Written On My Heart
by stormy.grace
Summary: Sam and Dean look into a case that turns out to be something they never expected, Claire goes through a life-changing experience at school, and the family continues to grow. Part four of my Supernatural series (The Preacher's Daughter, You Save Me, and Just A Dream).
1. Chapter 1

**This is not the story I promised in my last AN on Just A Dream. However, there are still some familiar faces for us and the boys. Just not the ones I had planned for.**

 **I'm a little hesitant to start posting now because this story has grown much bigger than the others in this series. It doesn't just focus on Sam like I had originally planned. Dean's family is still very much involved, and there's another story line that I came up with simply to give a character a reason for showing up and it turned into something that needed to be played out properly instead of just being mentioned and moved on from. And then there's the stuff with Sam that I can't go into too much detail on without giving away major spoilers.**

 **If you've read some of my other stories you know I can get carried away with adding characters and plot twists and story lines, and that tends to lead to stories not getting finished (WOTW series, Rosewood Falls, Saving Grace, etc.). That's part of why I've kept the other stories in this series so simple, and why I've waited to post them until they're finished. I get carried away and then the story gets out of control, and this one has the potential to do the same thing. So part of me wants to wait until it's finished to share, but I'm too excited about it to wait any longer. I'm particularly excited to read everyone's reactions to chapter 5, which I actually wrote in its entirety this morning before I even finished chapter 4, and may possibly be the most important chapter of the story. Possibly of the series thanks to the unexpected things one character decided to say.**

 **I haven't been quite this excited about anything really in the last three-ish months, so I'm gonna go ahead and start posting and hope (and maybe even pray) that I can finish it without getting distracted or loosing interest or control. With that said, let's see what the Mitchell/Winchester family is up to. ~SG**

Chapter 1

Dean had washed, waxed, and made sure both cars were running perfectly. He had fixed anything and everything that needed fixing in or out of the house, and dug up the yard to put in an underground iron devil's trap. He had also put in a devil's trap at Jake and Kim's house and helped Jake with a few things that needed fixing over there. He had helped Meredith clean out and organize the garage and attic, had been doing a majority of the household cleaning, and had put together every piece of furniture in the nursery along with helping to paint it and get it set up once Meredith had decided what she wanted to do with it. He helped out with grocery shopping and cooking, made sure they made every doctor's appointment, and made sure they were doing everything they were supposed to be doing to make sure Meredith and Kit were healthy. On top of all of that he worked at the garage Monday through Friday, and he and Jake gave the rest of the family lessons in hunting, self defense, and all things supernatural on the weekends. He had already made sure they were stocked up on salt, holy water, and silver bullets, and had cleaned and sharpened all of his blades. Now he was taking apart every gun he owned, cleaning them whether they needed it or not, and putting them back together at the kitchen table.

Meredith was lying on the couch reading. School was almost out for the summer, and she was beginning to notice changes in Dean that concerned her. He was still the same loving, protective man he had always been, making sure the house was properly locked up and salted each night and taking wonderful care of her, but he seemed restless lately. It was like he had cabin fever even though he was in and out of the house all day every day, interacting with their friends and neighbors, running errands, doing chores. He was living a perfectly normal life, and that was exactly the problem.

"Love?" Meredith called as she marked her place in her book and struggled into a sitting position. It was difficult now that she was just about a month away from her due date.

"Yeah?" Dean replied from the kitchen.

The couch was facing away from the kitchen so she couldn't see what he was doing, but she could still hear him working away. "Could you come here for a minute? I want to talk to you about something."

He set down whatever gun part he was cleaning, pushed the chair back, and walked into the living room, sitting down beside her when she patted the cushion. Meredith could sense he was worried even though he was doing a good job of hiding it. She knew him too well for him to be able to completely hide anything from her.

"What's up?"

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I feel fine." he replied. "Why?"

"You've just seemed restless lately." she said. "I'm worried about you."

"I'm not restless. I'm just...trying to stay busy and get everything done."

"Everything's been done." she said. "The nursery's finished, the house is clean and protected, the yard looks great. Why are you trying to stay busy?"

He shrugged. "I just don't like doing nothing."

"You miss hunting."

"Maybe a little, but—"

She shook her head. "No. No maybe about it, Dean. I know you. And I know you've been turning down jobs."

"What makes you think that?"

"Sam told me." she said. "When I talked to him the other day he asked if you were okay. Apparently he's called you about a few jobs and you refused to go. Why?"

"Because I'm not a hunter anymore." Dean said. "This is my life now. You and Kit. Hunting doesn't mix well with a normal life."

"But you love hunting." she argued. "Why would you want to give it up?"

"Because..." he trailed off, not sure how to answer the question. "I have to. I'm either a hunter, or I'm here. I can't have both."

"Why not?" she asked. "I never asked you to quit. I never wanted you to. It's too much a part of who you are."

Dean was quiet for a long time while he tried to come up with the right words to make her understand. "It just doesn't work that way, Mere. I have a family to take care of now. I can't just go chasing down monsters anymore. It's dangerous. You know that. I could get hurt or killed."

"That was always a possibility, Dean. You _have_ been hurt and killed."

"Yeah, but that was before I had you. Back when it was just me and Sam...Sam was fine on his own. I can't run off and risk my life anymore. I can't leave you to raise Kit on your own. I never thought I would have a family of my own. I never thought I'd live long enough. But now...I want to watch Kit grow up and play with her little brothers and sisters, and graduate from high school and maybe college. I want to walk her down the aisle when she gets married, and play with our grandkids. I have a normal life now, and I love it. I want it to keep going. And it won't if I keep hunting."

Meredith could see in his eyes that he was genuinely afraid of getting hurt or killed if he continued hunting. He was afraid of not being able to come back to her, to their family. And she understood that, but she also knew that hunting had been such a huge part of his world for most of his life. He had been raised in that life, and it was what had shaped him into the man that she loved. It was as much a part of him as his arms and legs, and staying away from it was hurting him. It had been a long time since he had hunted anything, the djinn being the last, and it was obvious to her that civilian life, no matter how much he loved it, was beginning to take a toll on him.

"Dean." she said reaching over and laying her hand on his knee. "I love that you love this life. I love that you're happy here with me, and I get that you don't want to jeopardize that. Really, I do. But I can see what this life is doing to you. You can't do just this forever. It'll make you miserable, and I refuse to be the reason you're miserable."

"I'm not miserable." he argued.

"No, but you're getting there." she said. "You're itching to get out of here."

"Yeah, well, I can't."

"Yes, you can. You don't have to turn down jobs, Dean. I don't want you to."

"Mere."

"I know." she said, cutting off his argument. "I know it's dangerous, but I also know how good you are. Everyone I've talked to says you and Sam are the best hunters there are. You're smart, and you're good at what you do. I trust you to come home in one piece. Or at least to come home. I never asked you to give up hunting, and to be perfectly honest I'd feel a hell of a lot safer knowing you're out there getting rid of the things that could threaten our family. Do I want you gone all the time? No. Of course not, but I don't mind if you take a job here and there. Or even just a vacation if you're that dead set against hunting. You're not used to being in one place all the time, and you've been here for over a year now."

"So, what, you want me to...to take a trip?" he asked.

Meredith nodded. "Yes. Go see Sam, visit Claire. I don't really care where you go, but just go somewhere. This house has never been so clean, and your hovering is driving me crazy."

"I don't hover."

"Yeah." she said. "You do. You don't mean to, but you do."

"Well, I can't go anywhere right now." he said, gesturing to her belly. "We're about to have a baby."

"We've got a month." she reminded him. "Dr. Beyers and Cas have both told us we have nothing to worry about. Everything's fine."

"What if she comes early?"

"I don't think she will. And if she does, I don't think it'll be more than a couple of weeks." Meredith said. "You can take a week to go hang out with your brother. I know you miss him."

"Yeah." Dean admitted. "I've gotten used to it, but it's still kind of weird not having him around all the time."

"So go spend some time with him, catch up, kill something." she urged. "I'll be right here when you get back. I'll have Jake and Kim to help me, and if anything happens we'll call you. Please, Dean. Do me a favor, and get out of my hair for a little while."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

Dean didn't look or sound like he was convinced it was a good idea, but he agreed to go spend a week with Sam. He missed his brother, but he didn't really want to leave home right now. Not so close to their due date, but she insisted.

"Okay." he said. "I'll go. But only for a week, and you'd better call me if anything happens. And I mean anything."

"I promise." she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"I don't like it."

"I know, but you know I'm right."

Dean sighed and put his arm around her as she snuggled against him. "Yeah."

He laid his hand on Meredith's belly, something he did quite often, and Kit kicked against it as if she were saying hello. The smile that spread across Dean's face was completely involuntary. In fact, he wouldn't have noticed it except for the fact that he knew he always smiled when he felt his daughter moving around. He couldn't wait to hold her, and part of him still couldn't believe he was going to get to. This was something he had dreamed about, but it was a dream he had felt certain would never come true. And yet, here he was, just a month away from meeting his little girl.

And Meredith was practically pushing him out the door. He understood why, and he knew he needed a little time away from his domestic life. Part of him really wanted to go, but there was also a part of him that never wanted to leave.

%%%

"Can I go?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Both questions were posed at the same time as soon as Dean and Meredith told the rest of the family that Dean would be taking some time off to go see Sam over dinner that night. One was from Dylan, who was still super excited about all things supernatural, and the other was from Jake, who seemed to share the same concerns that were still keeping Dean from being excited about going.

"No." Dean and Kim said, answering both questions.

"Oh, come on, Mom." Dylan whined.

"You've still got a month left of school." Kim reminded her son. It was only early May. Summer vacation hadn't started yet.

"What if I just go for the weekend?" Dylan suggested. He really wanted to check out the bunker.

"No." Kim said.

Dylan looked to Dean for help.

Dean shook his head. "I'm with your mom on this one, pal. If Sam and I end up catching a case you can't go, and I don't want to leave you at the bunker by yourself. Besides, how would you get home? I'm staying a whole week. Maybe more if we get a job."

Dylan's face fell into a pout.

"Maybe next time." Jake said, hoping to cheer his son up a bit and clearly failing.

"There won't be a next time." Dylan said. "The baby'll be here, and Dean'll never go on another hunt again."

No one argued that point. Meredith may have gotten Dean to agree to go off for a week this time, but she was pretty sure it would take a special job to get him to leave once the baby had arrived. No matter how much he loved hunting.

"Even if you did go with me this time you wouldn't be going hunting." Dean said.

"What's the point in training us if we can't hunt?"

"We're training you to be able to protect yourselves if you have to." Jake explained. "It's good for you to know how to defend yourselves, but don't go getting any ideas about chasing down monsters."

"Dean was chasing down monsters when he was my age." Dylan argued.

"And that's exactly why you're not going to." Dean said. "It's a dangerous life, Dylan, and it's no life for a kid to grow up in. Do you really think I would've chosen that life if I had been given a choice?"

"You did." Dylan said. "You could've left when you turned eighteen like Sam did. But you stayed."

"Because it's all I knew and my dad needed my help." Dean said honestly.

"Tell you what." Kim said. "After graduation, if you want to become a hunter, go for it. Until then, you follow our rules. You're not going anywhere until school's out, and you're not hunting _anything_ period. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." Dylan said.

With that discussion ended Jake turned his attention back to Dean and posed his original question again. "Are you sure it's a good idea for you to leave now?"

"No." Dean said. "But she didn't really give me a choice."

"He's driving me crazy." Meredith said, speaking up for the first time since the announcement had been made.

"What if—"

"She won't." Meredith said, cutting off Jake's question because she knew what he was going to ask.

"How do you know?" Rowan asked curiously.

"I don't really, but I can't stand to see Dean miserable." Meredith told her niece. "If the baby comes early then the baby comes early, and there's nothing we can do about it, but I need Dean to not be miserable. So, this is what we're going to do, and you can all stop looking at me like that. Everything will be fine."

"Now that we've got all of that settled, Jake and I have some news to share too." Kim said, changing the subject to something she knew would cheer everyone up.

"Oh my god!" Rowan exclaimed, grinning before her mother could even try to make her announcement. "Are you having a baby? _Please_ say you're having a baby."

The adults all chuckled at her reaction, and Kim nodded. "Yes. We're having a baby."

Rowan threw her fists up in celebration. "Yes!" She had always wanted to be a big sister.

Kim was right. Her news had cheered everyone up. As she looked around the table at her family she noted that every one of them was smiling as they congratulated her and Jake on the impending arrival of their first child together. Even Dylan seemed to have forgotten his sadness over not being allowed to go on a hunting trip with Dean, and Dean didn't seem as troubled about leaving Meredith so close to their due date. The rest of the meal passed jovially, and Rowan ran off to call Maddie and share the good news as soon as her plate was clean, which surprised no one.

%%%

Maddie arrived on her bike not long after Rowan had called her, and the three kids entertained themselves in the backyard while Dean and Jake took care of cleaning up the kitchen and Meredith showed Kim the finished nursery.

"Wow." Kim said. "You guys did a great job in here."

The room was actually Dean and Meredith's walk-in closet that had been temporarily converted into a nursery so they wouldn't have to give up their home office where Meredith graded papers or the two guest rooms upstairs quite so soon. It was a small room, but a newborn baby didn't really need a ton of space.

The walls were a pale shade of olive green on top with cream colored paneling below, and were decorated with pictures and other things Kit probably wouldn't care about but made the room look complete. The crib and dresser were a matching set with pale pink and white bedding in the crib and a changing station on top of the dresser, and the chair and ottoman tucked in the corner were gray with white trim and a ruffled pink throw pillow. The little table beside the chair held a lamp and the small bookcase against the back wall was stocked with books and toys. Both pieces of furniture matched the paneling on the walls, and there was a small, round braided rug that Meredith had made resting on the soft beige carpet in front of the bookcase. Dean had done a wonderful job of renovating the closet, and aside from the lack of windows, there was nothing to give away the fact that it hadn't always been a small bedroom.

"I think it's my favorite room in the entire house." Meredith said, running her hand over the smooth wood of the crib rail.

Kim smiled. "I bet it was nice to be able to start from scratch and put it all together. We had to use mismatched hand-me-downs for Rowan."

"We didn't have money for new things back then." Meredith said, reminding them both of how tight money had been during those years when it was just the two of them and Jason, and even after when it was just the two of them and Rowan. "But this time you can afford to do whatever you want with your nursery."

"Will you help me?"

"Why would you even ask that?" Meredith replied, sitting down on the ottoman because standing wasn't so easy anymore. Her students had pulled their money together and bought her a fancy office chair to roll around in so she wouldn't have to be on her feet all day. "Of course I'll help you."

Kim leaned back against the crib. "Can you believe this?"

"Believe what?"

"After all the crappy stuff we've been through we're finally happy." Kim said. "We've found ourselves a couple of really great men, and the kids aren't juvenile delinquents, and our little family is growing instead of going extinct."

" _And_ our really great men are actually getting along now." Meredith added. "I dare say they're friends."

"Take that, Hanna Durant."

Meredith giggled.

"What about Hanna Durant?" Dean asked as he appeared in the doorway.

"She lost." Kim said, smiling as Dean came into the little room and casually draped his arm around her shoulders. "We're alive and happy."

"And safe." Meredith added. "And we owe it all to you."

"Aw shucks." Dean drawled, making both women giggle. "I was just doin' my job. Didn't realize I was gonna get a family out of the deal."

Meredith rested her hand on her belly and smiled. Her sister was right. They had all lost so many people and suffered so much heartache, but this life was pretty perfect.

 **And since I forgot to mention it earlier, thanks to ArtistKurai for all your help, and if you guys haven't you really need to check out her story "Beautiful Soldier" and keep an eye out for the next one. I've read the first little bit and I think it broke me just a little. In a good way. ~SG**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

 _Reveille, Pennsylvania_

 _Ten years ago..._

"Brooke, its the jacket." Sam said. "That's what's keeping him here."

He and Dean had caught wind of a death in which a man had been hurled through the windshield of his car, and had a blood alcohol level that was way over the limit. The thing that drew them to the case was that the man, Steven Bennett, had been backing out of his driveway on his way to work when another car had slammed into him and launched him through the windshield. Except there was no other car. And Steven Bennett had been stone cold sober when he had walked out the front door according to his family.

They had talked to Steven's stepdaughter, who was also his biological niece, and found out that, not only had she witnessed her uncle's bizarre death, but her father had died a few years ago in a car accident exactly like the one that had killed her uncle. Except David Bennett _had_ been hit by another car and he _had_ been drunk. Very drunk.

Once they finally got Nora Bennett to talk she admitted that her first husband had been drunk because he had found out about the affair she was having with his brother. Her daughter, Brooke, hadn't been aware of this, but it explained why David Bennett's ghost would want to kill his brother. It only made sense that his wife was next, and sure enough he was now after Nora. She had already narrowly avoided two ghostly car accidents, and Sam and Dean hadn't been one bit surprised to find out that there was no body to burn. David had been cremated.

Brooke looked at Sam as if his suggestion was the craziest thing she had ever heard and subconsciously pulled the worn denim jacket tighter around her body. It was the one thing she had left of her father, and she was afraid of what Sam was going to ask her to do. "I don't understand."

"Sometimes spirits are attached to an object." Sam explained hurriedly. "You said that jacket belonged to your dad, right?"

Dean had Nora safely inside a salt circle and was guarding her from David's ghost with a salt gun, but David was furious and had stirred up a wind inside the house that was blowing papers around and the salt circle was quickly broken, allowing him to reach his wife.

Brooke flinched at the noise when Dean fired another round at the ghost. "Yes."

"Then we have to burn it." Sam said matter-of-factly. "It's the only way to save your mom."

Reluctantly she removed the jacket and handed it to him, watching with something like pain on her face as Sam set fire to it. As the faded fabric burned so did David's ghost, and suddenly everything was calm and quiet.

%%%

Later that night, after making sure Nora was alright, Dean headed back to the motel they were staying at while Sam walked Brooke back to her apartment, intending to pack up and leave town before they had to pay for another night. But Dean didn't see Sam again until the next day.

"Where were you?" he demanded, a little worried when his little brother let himself into the room early the next morning.

"I was with Brooke." Sam muttered quietly.

A grin stretched across Dean's face. "All night?"

"Shut up, Dean."

"You were with Brooke _all_ _night_?" Dean reiterated, still grinning. "Way to go, Sammy!"

"Shut _up_ , Dean."

"Dude, I was worried about you, and then I realized you were probably okay." Dean said. "So I was just mad at you for costing me money. Now I'm just proud of you."

Sam rolled his eyes and began packing up his things, doing his best to ignore his brother.

"So?"

"So what?"

"How was it?" Dean asked. "Come on, Sam. I want details."

"No." Sam said firmly. "It's none of your business, Dean."

Dean suddenly realized that Sam wasn't exactly proud of what he had done last night. It really hadn't been that long since Jessica had died, and Sam probably felt like he had cheated on her or something. And Dean wasn't making it any better by being a jerk.

"Hey man, I'm sorry." he apologized.

"Dean, just drop it, okay?" Sam snapped.

Dean held up his hands in defense. "Okay, Sam. Geez. I said I was sorry. No need to bite my head off."

Sam glanced over at his brother, looking like he might apologize for snapping at him, but didn't. Dean wouldn't have minded an apology, but he certainly didn't expect one. He had made a mistake and Sam had every right to be upset. Instead of an apology they made a silent agreement to never speak of Brooke Bennett again. It wasn't like they'd ever see her again.

"Let's get out of here." Sam said once he was all packed and ready to go.

Dean grabbed his stuff and followed Sam out of the room. They stowed their bags in the trunk and slid in up front, their doors slamming shut simultaneously. Neither brother said anything for four hours. And even then it was just Dean asking if Sam wanted to stop and get something for lunch and Sam saying that he did.

%%%

 _Reveille, Pennsylvania_

 _Now..._

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you like Grandma?"

Brooke Bennett looked up from her design books and blinked. "Why do you think I don't like Grandma?"

"You always fight with her." Trevor said.

"It's not that I don't like her, baby." Brooke explained. "It's just that we don't really see eye to eye on a lot of things."

"What does that mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"See eye to eye."

"It means we don't agree."

"Oh." Trevor said. "Why don't you see eye to eye?"

 _Because I'm still mad at her for cheating on Dad._ "Because we think differently."

"So, that's why you fight so much?"

Brooke nodded. "We don't mean to, and I don't think she likes it anymore than I do, but I don't think there's anything we can do about it. Why? Does it bother you?"

Trevor shrugged. "It's normal."

 _Great_ , she thought. Her kid thought it was normal to bicker over every little thing with your mother. Actually, it probably was, but not like the Bennett women did it. Brooke and her mother had turned arguing into an art form over the last ten years, and she didn't see any signs of it ever stopping. She was still too mad about the affair, and her mother simply couldn't understand why she couldn't just get over it. It was never going to change.

"Hey, Mom?" Trevor said again before Brooke could even try to respond to his last comment.

"Yeah, baby?" She really needed to get back to work, but her son was in one of his inquisitive moods.

"Do you and Grandma fight because I don't have a dad?"

That question plunged a knife into her heart. How did she even begin to answer that one? Yes, that was one of the things she and her mother fought about, but how was she supposed to explain why?

Nora Bennett was constantly pushing her daughter to date so she could meet someone, get married, and give Trevor a father. But Brooke was much too busy working three jobs and going to design school to even _think_ much about dating. She had a kid that needed food, clothes, and shelter, and she had finally convinced herself that she really could become an interior designer like she had always dreamed of if only she had the proper schooling. So she worked part-time as a waitress and part-time as a telemarketer, cleaned a couple of houses, and was earning her degree online.

And Trevor did have a father, just not a dad. And that was something Nora liked to harp on as well. You should have told him. Never mind if you don't know how to get in touch with him. How are you supposed to raise a baby on your own? For ten years Nora had insisted that Brooke track down the man that had impregnated her, assuming he would drop everything and become and instant daddy. Even now she didn't think Brooke could raise a child on her own.

But she had. Trevor was fine. Brooke was fine. Everything was fine. Except that now her son had started asking questions she didn't know how to answer. Mostly because she was afraid she was going to have to tell her son that he would never meet his father because his father was dead.

"Sometimes." she finally admitted.

"So, why don't you just get married?"

"It doesn't work that way, baby." Brooke said. "You have to fall in love first, and I haven't met anyone I even like yet. And _you_ have to like him too. I can't just marry anyone."

"So..." Trevor said. "Why don't you marry my dad? You love him. You wouldn't have me if you didn't, right?"

"You don't have to be in love to have a baby." Brooke explained. "To be perfectly honest, I didn't even really know your father. He was a really nice guy, and he helped me and Grandma out with something a long time ago. We were both very young, and we made a mistake."

"I'm a mistake?"

"No, baby. _You_ are not a mistake at all. _You_ , David Trevor Bennett, are the best thing that ever happened to me." Brooke explained. She set her books aside and pulled her son into her lap. "It just wasn't right between me and your father. He traveled a lot for his job, and it wouldn't have worked out."

"What was his name?" Trevor asked.

Brooke knew that there were a lot of women in her situation that wouldn't be able to answer that question, but she wasn't one of them. She knew exactly who Trevor's father was. She just wasn't sure she wanted him to have quite that much information just yet because it might lead to other, more difficult questions, but she couldn't come up with a way to avoid answering this one.

"Sam."

"Sam?"

"Yep." Brooke said. "Your father's name was Sam."

And just like that Trevor was out of questions. He climbed out of her lap and disappeared into his room, and Brooke went back to her studies, unwanted thoughts of Sam Winchester distracting her from her homework.

%%%

"Claire!" Sam said in surprise as he unexpectedly found his young friend letting herself into the bunker. It wasn't uncommon for her to visit on weekends, but she usually let him know if she was coming. "What are you doing here?"

"I can leave if you don't want me here." she said, pausing halfway down the stairs.

"No." Sam said. "You're always welcome here. You know that. I just wasn't expecting you."

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I stay for a while."

"Don't you have to get back to school?"

"I don't think the University of Sioux Falls would like that very much." Claire said as she continued down the stairs. "They kicked me out."

"What? Why? What happened?"

"Can I get settled first?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Claire brought her things in and stashed them in the room she had chosen for herself, meeting Sam in the kitchen where he had already started fixing a late dinner for the both of them. Neither of them had eaten yet, and they were both hungry. Claire offered to help, but the sandwiches Sam was throwing together didn't really require two people so she simply sat down and told her story.

"Before I tell you what happened will you promise not to freak out?" she asked.

"Just tell me what happened."

"So, there was this guy." Claire began, instantly grabbing Sam's full attention. "He was in a couple of my classes and I saw him around campus a lot. He seemed like a nice enough guy, so I went out with him."

"Did he hurt you?" Sam asked.

Claire wasn't surprised when he shifted into instant big brother mode, but it wasn't necessary. "No. He tried to. Sort of. Apparently he thought he deserved more from me than a simple 'Thanks for a fun night.'. He tried to kiss me, and when I pushed him off he got mad and tried to force his way into my room."

"This guy assaulted you?"

"I guess, but I took care of it."

"How?"

"I pulled a knife on him." Claire said as if it were the most common thing in the world. "I'm a hunter, remember? What else would you expect me to do?"

She had a point, and suddenly Sam was glad she had decided to become a hunter. If she hadn't known how to protect herself there was no telling what might have happened to her.

"Anyway, he freaked out and told the campus police I attacked him." Claire continued, which didn't make Sam feel any better. "They searched my dorm and my car, and of course they found all my weapons and crucifixes and jars of holy water. The school convinced the guy not to press charges because it would look bad for them, and kicked me out."

"Dose Jody know about this?" Sam asked.

Claire got up and pulled a butter knife from a drawer to cut her sandwich in half like her mom used to do. "Of course Jody knows, but I don't see any sense in making a big deal out of it."

"Claire, that guy _attacked_ you." Sam reminded her. "And he lied to the cops and got you kicked out of school. Why wouldn't you want to fight that?"

"Because his dad's some big time, rich cattle rancher or something." Claire said. "All he has to do is write a check and the school would cover it up anyway. Besides, I don't want to mess with it. It's not worth it."

"Claire—"

"Stop, Sam." She said sharply. "I've already made up my mind. I get where you're coming from, but this is my decision, and I'm not going to make a big deal about it alright?"

Sam looked like he was prepared to continue arguing, but after about a minute of staring at her and looking determined he finally gave up. "Fine. But what are you going to do now?"

"Hunt."

"Oh, come on, Claire." Sam said. "You're twenty years old. You've got your whole life ahead of you. Why would you want to throw it all away to hunt? You could find another school, get a degree, have a normal life. I thought you wanted to be a teacher. And what about having a family some day? Don't you want that?"

"You might." She said. "But I'm only twenty. I'm not thinking about kids and mortgages yet. I want to help people, Sam. I thought I wanted to be a teacher because of Meredith, and yeah, I'd probably enjoy it, but I'd rather be hunting. My dad was possessed by an angel when I was a little girl. Willingly, but still. And you saw what happened to my mom. I _know_ what happened to your mom. And your dad. And so many other people. How can I sit in a classroom and just teach kids when I could be saving them from what happened to us?"

"Yeah, but..."

"I've already made up my mind, Sam." Claire said. "I appreciate your concern for my future, but it is _my_ future. I've already talked to Jody and Cas about it, and they weren't any happier than you are, but they respected my decision. And Alex agrees with me. She's planning on finishing out this year, and then we're hitting the road."

"You're right." Sam said, realizing he wasn't going to change her mind no matter how hard he tried. "It is your life, and I have no say in how you choose to live it. Just promise me you'll be careful, and you won't get obsessed with the job like we did."

"Of course I'll be careful." Claire promised. "But I don't think you can be a hunter and not get at least a little obsessed with the job. I mean, I'll try my best not to decide the fate of the entire world rests on my shoulders, but I think most of the crazy biblical and pre-biblical world-threatening catastrophes have been taken care of. As long as you and Dean don't bring on a second Apocalypse or anything I think I'll be okay."

"Thanks." Sam said dryly.

Claire smiled. "Okay. So, there's a demon in Pennsylvania. Wanna help me take it out?"

"I haven't heard about any demons in Pennsylvania."

"I heard about it from another hunter friend of mine." Claire said. "He got pulled away on another job, and the demon doesn't seem to be causing too much trouble, but I want to check it out anyway. I was planning on spending the night here and heading out in the morning. Thought you might want to tag along."

"Sure, but don't forget about the deal we made with Crowley." Sam said.

"Yeah. The deal _you_ made with Crowley." she reminded him. "I didn't kiss or sign anything. I get that you guys have this weird frenemy thing going with the King of Hell, but it's got nothing to do with me. If this demon needs to be taken out I won't hesitate to kill it."

"With what?" Sam asked, knowing he had the only demon blade in existence. At least the only one they knew off.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the demon-killing angel blade I got from my surrogate angel daddy?" Claire said. "With all the angels that were killed in the last few years there's a bunch of extra angel blades up in Heaven, and Cas gave me one just in case I needed it."

"I thought you said the campus police found all your weapons." Sam said. "Didn't they confiscate them?"

"They searched my room and my car." Claire said. "They didn't search _me_ , and I learned everything I know about hunting from you and Dean. Do you really think I walk around unarmed? I've still got a few things they didn't find."

She still had her angel blade that she kept strapped to her arm and hidden up her sleeve like Cas had showed her, the pistol she kept tucked in her waistband like Dean, a crucifix she always wore around her neck, and a small silver knife she kept hidden in her boot.

"Good." Sam said.

"I do need to restock my trunk though."

"Feel free to raid the armory."

"Thanks. Are you coming with me to check out that demon?"

"Yeah." Sam confirmed. He knew she was capable of handling the situation by herself, but he would feel more comfortable if she had back up. "We'll leave in the morning."

Claire smiled, happy to have Sam tagging along even though she didn't really need him to. She didn't get to see the Winchesters very often since they were all so spread out, and she missed them. It would be nice to have Sam along for the ride. "Great."

They finished their meal and chatted for a little longer before going to bed, catching up some. Two hours after Claire had arrived she went to bed excited about her future as a hunter, and Sam went to bed with no idea how his life was about to change.

 **Isn't Trevor adorable?**

 **And just for reference, the case involving the Bennetts happened in 2007/Season 2 sometime before Heart. I'm not entirely sure what year it's supposed to be in canon, but for the purposes of this series it's May of 2017 according to my tentative calculations. It's entirely possible that my math is wrong, but I'm sticking with May of 2017 anyway. ~SG**


	3. Chapter 3

**Short filler chapter, but something's better than nothing, right? ~SG**

Chapter 3

Sam got yet another surprise when Dean pulled up in the Impala the next morning while he and Claire were preparing to leave. It was pretty early, so Dean must have left Bristol Ridge sometime yesterday and driven all night. Claire's car had been moved to the garage, and Sam was currently reorganizing the weapons cache in the trunk of his Charger while Claire was busy in the kitchen packing a cooler so they could eat on the road.

"Dean?" Sam said, not bothering to hide his surprise. Like Claire, his brother had offered no notice of his visit. "What are you doing here?"

Dean climbed out of his car and the brothers shared a hug before Dean explained anything. "Mere decided I needed a vacation from civilian life. She kicked me out."

"She kicked you out?" Sam questioned, doubtfully. " _Meredith_ kicked you out?"

"Well, not for good." Dean said. "Get that look off your face. We're fine."

"So, what happened?"

"I spent too much time in one place." Dean said nonchalantly, shrugging. "Over a year with the same people, same job, same house, same town. I didn't want to take off so close to our due date, but she made me. Said I was hovering and driving her crazy. So, here I am."

Dean was about to ask what Sam was up to when Claire came out of the bunker and spotted him.

"Dean!" she exclaimed, clearly excited to see him, and set down the cooler she was holding.

The next thing Dean knew she was launching herself into his arms, and he was staggering back a few steps in order to keep from being knocked to the ground as he caught his young, blonde friend and hugged her. A smile spread across his face as Claire wrapped him in a fierce hug. This greeting was worth the worry leaving home had caused him.

"I missed you too." he said with a chuckle as he set her back on her feet.

"What are you doing here?" Claire asked and turned to Sam before Dean could answer. "Why didn't you tell me Dean was coming?"

"I didn't know Dean was coming." Sam said.

Claire turned back to Dean for an explanation and he told her the same thing he had just told Sam. When he finished his explanation he nodded toward the abandoned cooler. "You two going on a picnic or something?"

"A friend of mine called me about a demon in Pennsylvania while I was on my way here." Claire said. "We're going to check it out. Why don't you come with us?"

"Sure, but don't you have to get back to school?" Dean asked, knowing that it was almost a day's drive from Lebanon to Pennsylvania. Who knew how many days it was going to take them to find the demon and possibly kill it, and then she would have to drive all the way back to Sioux Falls. It was a weekend, but Claire and Alex usually stuck to cases in their area because of school.

"Yeah, about that..." Claire said.

"She got kicked out." Sam said.

Dean's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You got kicked out of school? How?"

Claire sighed. "I went out with a total jerk."

"And how did that get you kicked out of school?" Dean asked, going into instant parent mode much like he did with Dylan and Rowan back home, and had done with Claire several times before.

"He expected more than I was willing to give, and when he tried to force me I pulled a knife on him to defend myself." She explained quickly. "He told the campus police that _I_ attacked _him_ , and they searched my room and car and found all my hunting stuff. They confiscated it, and kicked me out because they didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

"What happened to him?" Dean asked, pretty sure he had already figured out the answer.

"Nothing." Claire said. "And don't make a big deal out of it, Dean. I already went through the whole thing with Cas, Jody, Alex, _and_ Sam. He didn't hurt me, and I don't want to pursue it any further."

"What if he tries to hurt someone else?" Dean argued. "Claire, guys like that don't start taking no for an answer just because one girl stood up to him. The next girl probably won't have a knife to pull on him."

"You think I don't know that?" Claire snapped. "Of course I've thought about that, Dean! And no, I don't want anyone else to get hurt, but there's nothing I can do about it. The school's not going to listen to me. Not after finding all my knives and guns. And all his rich daddy has to do is write a check to pay for a new building or renovations or something and they'd just drop it."

"Claire—"

"No, Dean!" she shouted. "I've already made up my mind, and no one's going to change it. I'm sorry. If someone else gets hurt it's on me, and I'll take care of it, but I _can't_ keep thinking about it right now. Okay? It's too soon. Right now I just want to kill a demon."

"Okay." Dean said, backing off.

Sam hadn't realized just how shaken up she was about the indecent, and he couldn't help but wonder exactly what had happened. She had told him that the guy had tried to kiss her and then had forced his way into her room, but those were the only details she had shared. Had it gone farther before she had been able to get a hold of her knife? Was she lying when she said the guy hadn't hurt her? He didn't want to think about what might have happened to this girl that had come to be like a little sister to him.

Actually, he couldn't think about it. If he did he was entirely likely to track the kid down, and he obviously needed more information before that happened. But since Claire didn't want to share any more all Sam could do was respect her wishes and leave it alone for now.

"So, let's go take care of that demon." Dean said. He glanced at Sam's car. "I'm not riding all the way to Pennsylvania in that thing."

"What's wrong with my car?" Sam asked.

"There's no room in your car." Dean replied. "Besides, Baby needs to stretch her legs."

"You just drove all the way out here from Bristol Ridge." Sam said. "That's a sixteen hour drive, Dean."

"Yeah, and I didn't drive her all the way out here to abandon her." Dean argued. "If I'm gonna hunt, I'm taking my own car, and there's no sense in taking two cars, so come on."

Sam sighed. "Fine."

He wasn't sure how he felt about Dean suddenly deciding he was in charge, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little excited about riding shotgun in the Impala on a job with his brother again. It had been a long time since he and Dean had worked together on a case, and it really wouldn't feel right without the Impala. Sam was happy that Dean was happy with his new life, but he definitely missed the old days.

"Actually," Claire said, as they loaded everything into the Impala instead of the Charger. "Why don't you two take care of the demon. I don't think it'll take all three of us, and as much as I love hanging out with you I don't really want to argue about my life all the way to Reveille."

"I can't say I agree with your choice, but you're right. It is your choice, and we don't have any say in how you handle it." Dean said, wanting Claire to come with them. "You don't want to talk about it, we won't talk about it."

"Thanks, but still." Claire said. "You two can handle this case with no problem, and to be honest I want to go see Meredith. So, you two go, and I'll go hang out with your family."

"Okay." Dean said, dropping his argument once more. Arguing with Claire was pointless, and he couldn't say he wasn't a little relived to know that she would be with Meredith. Jake and Kim and the kids were capable to handling whatever happened, but Dean liked knowing Claire would be there too. "We'll see you in a few days then. Hopefully."

Claire gave them both hugs good-bye and watched them leave. Once they were gone she moved the Charger to the garage, and made sure her car was properly stocked before heading toward Georgia.

"You gave in on that pretty quick." Sam said once Dean had called Meredith to tell her about the change in plans.

"On what?" Dean asked. "Claire going to see Meredith?"

"No." Sam clarified. "Claire not pressing charges against the guy that attacked her."

"You heard her, Sammy. She's made up her mind. She doesn't want to mess with it right now." Dean said. "I don't like her choice. At all. But I'm not gonna be able to say anything to change her mind if she doesn't want to do anything about it, so why bother? It would've only made her mad."

"Did it sound like there was more to the story to you than what she told us?"

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do about it right now If we go behind her back she'll kill us."

Dean had a point.

"Did she say this demon was in Reveille?" Sam asked, changing the subject when he remembered what Claire had said.

"Yeah." Dean said. "So?"

"We've worked a case in Reveille before, Dean."

"So? I mean, I know hunters have a rule about hitting a place twice, but since when have we ever followed the rules? What case was it?"

"David Bennett." Sam said. "2007."

Dean glanced over at his brother. "You're gonna have to give me more details, Sammy. We've worked a lot of cases since 2007. That was ten years ago."

"David Bennett died in a car accident after finding out his wife was cheating on him with his brother and getting drunk." Sam explained, remembering the case perfectly. "His ghost killed the brother and tried to kill the wife. He was linked to the jacket he left his daughter. Brooke Bennett."

It took a moment for the details to jog Dean's memory, but he smiled once he remembered. "Oh yeah. Brooke Bennett. Hey, didn't you two..."

"Yeah." Sam said, sounding less than pleased with the memory.

Dean remembered why. "Right. Ouch. Well, this'll be fun."

"Sure."

"Look, I know it's a small town, but what are the chances we'll run into her?" Dean asked, trying to make his brother feel better. "I mean, we're only gonna be there for a few days probably, and I'm sure she's got a life. Job, family."

"You live in a small town, Dean." Sam said. "How easy is it for you to avoid people you don't want to run into?"

"Not very." Dean admitted. "But it was ten years ago. She probably won't even remember you."

"We saved her mother, Dean. That's something people tend to remember."

"Fine. Then suck it up, and quit acting like a baby." Dean said. "I get that this thing with Brooke happened not long after Jess, but come on, Sam. Didn't we already have the Jess would want you to be happy conversation? You were single, Brooke was single. No one cheated on anyone. You slept with a girl. It happens all the time, Sam. Maybe not for you, but in general people sleep with other people on a pretty regular basis. No crimes were committed. We've got a job to do, and I'm not dealing with you hiding behind bushes if some girl you banged one time walks by."

With that Dean reached over and turned on the radio, filling the Impala with the sounds of The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun" and singing along so that Sam couldn't make any further arguments about what had happened with Brooke Bennett a decade ago.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was Saturday and Trevor was spending the day with his uncle, who was a cop in Philadelphia. Nate was supposed to be taking his nephew on a trip to see the Liberty Bell, but there was no telling what they were really up to. Not that Brooke really cared. She knew her son was safe with her brother and that they wouldn't be getting into any real trouble. And she was glad that Nate had today off because that meant she wouldn't have to pick Trevor up from her mother's house when she got off work later. Nate would simply bring him back home and probably spend the night instead of going all the way back to his own apartment. Brooke never minded her brother inviting himself to stay at her place, but having any kind of contact with her mother was always a chore simply because of the inevitable arguing that would occur no matter what she said or how quickly she left. She had already dealt with it this morning, and was thankful she wouldn't have to deal with it again.

Nora had called a couple of hours ago after Brooke had already started her shift at the diner. "Are you running late this morning?" she had asked.

"No, Ma." Brooke had replied. "I'm not running late. I'm already at work."

"Well, where's Trevor?" Nora had asked as if her daughter had forgotten about her nine-year-old son and left him home alone. "Do I need to go pick him up?"

"No, Ma." Brooke repeated. "He's with Nate today. I told you last night that Nate called and asked if he could take him into the city today."

"You didn't tell me that."

"Yes, I did." Brooke argued. "I called you as soon as I got off the phone with Nate. You didn't answer so I left a message."

"I don't have any messages on my answering machine."

"I called your cell."

"Well, I don't know how to get into my voicemail, Brooke."

"I've showed you how to do it five hundred times." Brooke said. "You do know how."

"Why don't you just call the house phone?" Nora complained. "If I'm not home I'll get the message when I get back. Is it really that hard?"

"Fine. I'll call the house from now on." Brooke said. "I need to get back to work."

"Do you need me to pick Trevor up from Nate's?"

"No, Ma. Nate's bringing him home. I don't need you to do anything today, and I've got tomorrow off."

"Good. You work too hard."

"Good-bye, Ma." Brooke said through gritted teeth and hung up, letting out a strangled scream that drew a sympathetic look from the cook, who was actually the last guy she had dated.

Now she was annoyed again just from thinking about the conversation with her mother as she pushed open the door to the dining room to carry an order out to one of her tables.

The front door was opening as she entered the dining room, and she glanced at the newcomers. It was an unconscious habit for her to check and see who was coming in, usually seeing some neighbor she had known forever, but the two men that had just entered the building were the last people she had ever expected to see. In fact, the sight of them was so shocking that she tripped over her own two feet and sent the food crashing to the floor with a yelp and a "Damn it!" that had every pair of eyes in the room turning her way. This was just not her day. First her mother had played her I-don't-understand-technology game, and now Sam and Dean Winchester were staring at her standing in the middle of a pile of spilled chili cheese fries that had stained the front of her t-shirt before landing on her feet.

"Was that—" Dean asked as the familiar looking waitress scampered back into the kitchen.

"Yeah." Sam said, cutting his brother off before he could finish his sentence. "I think so."

Dean grabbed Sam's arm when his brother turned to leave. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere but here." Sam replied.

"Come on, Sam." Dean complained. "I'm hungry, and we're already here. Please don't make me find somewhere else to eat."

"Fine." Sam said, pulling his arm free from his brother's grasp. "Then I'll just go back to the motel and see if I can find anything to point us in the right direction."

"That might be easier if you actually talk to people!" Dean shouted after his brother as Sam left the diner and began to walk the short distance back to their motel. With a sigh he found an empty table and sat down. It wasn't long before a waitress that his brother hadn't slept with came over to take his order. He asked for a cheeseburger, fries, and sweet tea because Meredith had him hooked on the stuff, and checked his phone to see if he had any missed calls or messages. There were none.

The waitress that brought his food wasn't the one that had taken his order. It was Brooke, who had cleaned up as best she could, and Dean was surprised when she sat down across from him at the table.

"Hi." he said.

"Hi." she replied.

"Do you usually sit with your customers while they eat?" he asked, taking a sip of tea.

"I'm on my break." she replied. "Thought I'd take a moment to say hi to an old friend and find out what you're doing here."

"Sounds more like a demand than curiosity."

"I'm serious, Dean." she said. "The last time you and Sam were here was because my jacket was haunted. That was ten years ago, and I really don't think you decided to drop by and see how I'm doing. What's going on?"

"Hopefully nothing that concerns you, but maybe you can help."

"Help how?"

"Well, we got a tip that there might be a demon in town, and maybe you can help us figure out who it's possessing." Dean explained.

Brooke looked a little surprised, but not completely. "A demon? So it's not just ghosts?"

"Nope." Dean confirmed. "Though my life sure would be a hell of a lot easier if it were."

"Okay." Brooke said, stealing one of his fries. "Well...how can I help?"

"Have you noticed anyone acting strange lately?" Dean asked. "Out of character, just, you know, not really themselves?"

Brooke thought for a while and stole another one of Dean's fries. "No. Not really. Everyone I've talked to lately seems to be just fine, but I'll keep my eye out for anything weird."

"Thanks."

"Hey, where'd Sam go?" she asked.

"He got spooked when he saw you and ran away." Dean replied truthfully. "What happened between you two anyway? I mean, other than what I'm pretty sure happened. If you don't mind my asking, because you don't seem to be all that cool with seeing him again either."

"I don't mind you asking." she said, getting up. "But it's none of your business, and I've got to get back to work. I'll let you know if I notice anything that might be helpful."

Dean ate his lunch and then walked back to the motel where he found Sam working away on his laptop. "Find anything?"

"Not yet." Sam admitted. "I've been searching the papers and anything else I can find online, but I'm not finding anything that even sounds like demons. There have been demonic omens in the area in the last couple of weeks, but I think maybe the demon's skipped town."

"Maybe it heard we were coming." Dean suggested.

"Did you, um...did you..."

"Talk to Brooke?" Dean finished. "Yeah. She hasn't noticed anything weird, but she said she'll let us know if she does."

"Great." Sam said. "So...is she...okay?"

Dean sat down on his bed. "I guess. I didn't really get a chance to ask. She sat down, demanded to know why we're here, said she'd keep her eyes peeled after I explained, and then ran back to work after asking where you'd gone."

"She asked about me?"

"No. She asked where you went." Dean corrected. "I told her you got scared and ran away, and she told me to mind my own business when I asked why you're both acting so jumpy about each other. So, now I'm gonna ask you. What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. "I walked her home, and we talked for a little while. I explained the whole ghost thing to her a little better. One thing lead to another and I ended up spending the night."

"That's it?" Dean asked. "I mean, you did have sex with her, right?"

"Yes, Dean. I slept with her."

"And you were freaked out about it because of the timing and Jess and all." Dean said, walking himself through what he remembered. "I get that, but why is she so freaked out about seeing you? You didn't do anything...weird, did you?"

"Define weird."

"You know...weird. Like...not normal." Dean said. "I don't really know what would be weird for you. Or for her. Hey, maybe she's not freaked out about what happened ten years ago. Maybe she's freaked out because _she's_ the demon."

"Brooke's not a demon, Dean."

"No, but she could be possessed." Dean said. "Duh."

"She's not possessed."

"How do you know? You barely even looked at her before you tucked tail."

Sam realized that Dean was right. It was entirely possible that the demon they were looking for was possessing Brooke. If so, of course she would tell Dean she hadn't noticed anything weird and offer to help. It would throw suspicion off her. But what about his research? It really did look like the demon had left town.

"I mean, obviously we should check it out, but I'm not even sure there is a demon here, Dean."

"So, what, Claire's friend lied to her?"

"No." Sam said. "A demon was definitely here. There's been electrical storms and other omens in the area over the last month, but I can't find anything other than that that even hints at a demon being in town. At least, not one that's causing any trouble."

"Well, we're not just gonna leave, Sam." Dean said. "We still have a job to do. We'll talk to people, do a little research that doesn't involve hiding in a room with a laptop."

"No, you're right." Sam agreed. "I'm not saying we should leave. I'm just saying that something doesn't seem right about this."

"Alright, well, we'll start interviewing people tomorrow and see what we can dig up."

"Why can't we start now?" Sam asked.

"Because I've been on the road for two days, and I'm not used to it." Dean said, pulling off his shoes and socks. "I'm fed, and now I need a nap. But if you want to go ahead and get started, I'm not stopping you. Why don't you start with Brooke?"

Sam picked up one of the pillows on his bed and threw it at his brother's head, but Dean ducked just in time and the pillow hit the wall and fell to the floor.

"Dude, you need to work on your aim." Dean teased as he crawled under the covers and tried to get comfortable.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked after several minutes of tossing and turning.

"I'm not used to sleeping without Meredith." Dean admitted, pouting. "And this bed's not nearly as comfortable as ours. Come snuggle with me, Sammy."

"Shut up and take your nap."

"Why do I have a feeling that's something I'm gonna be saying a lot in a few weeks?"

Sam smiled. Dean sounded like he was dreading trying to put Kit down for naps, but Sam could tell that everything about his impending fatherhood excited him. Actually, Sam was pretty excited too. Not nearly as excited as Dean, but he was definitely looking forward to being an uncle.

%%%

"So, Sam and Dean Winchester are back in town." Brooke announced once Trevor was in bed after a long day of playing with his uncle.

"Those are the guys that burned Dad's ghost, right?" Nate asked.

He hadn't been there, but of course Brooke and Nora had told him about it. She nodded as she joined him on the couch, handing him a beer and taking a sip from her own. "Yeah."

"And Sam's Trevor's father, right?"

Brooke hadn't told him about _that_. Obviously he knew she had gotten knocked up, but she hadn't told him who the father was. "How do you know that?"

"Trevor told me he asked you about his father the other night." Nate admitted, taking a sip of beer. "And that his name is Sam. Wasn't too difficult to put the pieces together. Does Sam know?"

"No." Brooke said. "I tried to track him down a few times, but I never could find him. I'm not really surprised with the way they live, and all the trouble with the police."

"What?" Nate demanded.

"They've gotten tangled up in some things with police in a couple different states and the feds, but none of it was their fault." Brooke explained in defense. "It was all due to trouble with a couple of monsters they were hunting."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I talked to them." she said. "They came into the diner and I was so surprised to see them that I dropped Paul and Ashley's lunch down the front of my shirt. Sam ran off, but I talked to Dean. They think there's a demon in town, and he wanted to know if I've noticed anything off about anyone. I told him I hadn't, but I'd keep my eyes and ears open. Sam came back later and apologized for surprising me like that and then running away. Apparently he wasn't expecting to see me either."

"If he doesn't know about Trevor why'd he run away when he saw you?" Nate asked.

"Apparently he'd been dating this girl a couple years before I met them, thinking about marrying her actually, and she was killed by a demon, which is part of what pulled him back into hunting." Brooke explained, remembering what Sam had told her earlier that evening. "I guess he wasn't completely over her when he met me, and he felt guilty about what happened between us."

"What else did you two talk about?"

"Not much." Brooke said. "He explained about that and the stuff with the police when I brought it up. I've been following them as much as I can just out of curiosity, but I hadn't heard anything since some report that they died in a helicopter explosion or something."

"So, you thought they were dead until today."

Brooke nodded. "Which is why I ended up wearing Paul and Ashley's lunch."

"And you didn't tell Sam about Trevor?"

"Should I?"

Nate shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"I don't know." Brooke admitted. "I mean, he deserves to know, and Trevor's been asking questions, but...I don't know."

"Well, if you're ever gonna tell him I think now would be a good time since he's actually here in town." Nate said. "And Trevor knows his father's name now, so if he ends up meeting Sam..."

"Yeah." Brooke said, understanding immediately where her brother was going. Trevor would wonder if every man he met with the name Sam was his father now. He probably wouldn't ask, but Brooke wasn't sure she could bear the thought of her son meeting a man with the right name and wondering if he was the right man. "I don't guess I have much of a choice, do I? For Trevor's sake."

"It's up to you, but I think you should tell him."

"I think I shouldn't have told Trevor his name." Brooke said, regretting that particular decision. At the time she hadn't thought much of it since she had thought Sam was dead. Now, not only was he not dead, but he was back in town where he could easily have some sort of interaction with his son without even knowing it. Maybe Nate was right and it was best to tell him so he would have some warning. She wasn't expecting anything from him, but it really didn't feel right to keep it from him under the circumstances.

 **Poor Brooke thought she had a ghost problem again. Turns out she's just got a baby daddy problem. Which one would you rather have? Honestly, I think I'd rather deal with a couple of ghosts. ~SG**


	5. Chapter 5

**This may be the most important chapter of the story. Maybe even the whole series.**

 **I had planned to bring in a character we all know and love (If you don't love him, I don't understand you, because how can you not love him?), and while his part in this chapter stuck to the basic idea I had come up with for him, and for the story overall (because his involvement is very important), he took the liberty of adding a few things I hadn't thought about and made it oh so much better. He also changed the name of the story.**

 **Originally, it was called Perfect because of Meredith's thoughts at the end of Chapter 1. At the time I thought this story was going in a slightly different direction, and that last little bit of the chapter had Sara Evans' "Perfect" playing in my head, and it was...well, perfect. But then this guy shows up and says something that has another song playing in my head. Plus One's "Written On My Heart", and seeing as I hadn't listened to it in a long time I decided to give it a spin once I was finished with that particular scene. And as I listened to it, because of what this character said, I realized just how perfectly the lyrics matched up with the new direction the story had suddenly veered in.**

 **Now, if you guys have ever read any of my other fics you know I have a tendency to work in song titles and lyrics. In fact, every story in this series is a named after a song ("Preacher's Daughter" by Maggie Rose, "You Save Me" by Kenny Chesney, and "Just a Dream" by Carrie Underwood). Sometimes I do it on purpose, sometimes it just happens. Sometimes, like with TPD, I purposefully try to match the story with the lyrics, but most of the time it's simply that the title fits the story, like with JAD. YSM kind of goes both ways I guess. But this one? Holy cow, y'all. Never have I ever had a song and a story match up so perfectly, and this one just happened.**

 **But anyway, I'll let you get to the story and find out who this story hijacking (and improving) character is, and what he decided to say (because I had absolutely no control over the situation) that had such an impact on this story. If you need me I'll just be reliving my childhood with my favorite Christian Pop boy band. ~SG**

Chapter 5

Sam and Dean had been in Reveille for three days, and had found nothing. There were no more demonic omens occurring in the area, no strange deaths or occurrences, and no one acting out of the ordinary. Brooke hadn't noticed anything weird about her friends and neighbors, and had willing taken a sip from Dean's flask of holy water to prove that she wasn't possessed. They had talked to pretty much everyone in town under their usual guise of FBI agents looking for a suspect, and had found absolutely nothing.

"I don't know what's going on, or what _was_ going on, but there's no demon here." Sam said as they walked back into their motel room after the third long day of turning up no leads.

As much as Dean wanted something to actually come out of this case it was pretty clear that Sam was right. "Let's get packed up and go down to the diner for dinner. I don't think Brooke's working tonight, so it should be safe for you to go in there."

"I'm not avoiding her, Dean." Sam insisted. "I went down there and talked to her the other day. I think maybe _she's_ avoiding _me_."

"Why would she be avoiding you?" Dean asked as he removed his jacket and loosened his tie.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know."

"It's not like you've really been seeking her out."

"No, but I haven't seen her since that first day in town." Sam said. "Other than that she's only talked to you since we've been here."

Dean shrugged it off, not really caring to think about why Brooke might be avoiding Sam, or whether she even was. There was no case here, and he wanted to get home. Yes, he had told Meredith he would spend a week with Sam, but wasn't five days, plus the couple it would take to get home, enough? He had driven from Georgia to Kansas to Pennsylvania, caught up with his brother, _and_ looked into a seemingly non-existent demon. That was more of his old life than he had had all year and he was ready to get back to his current life. This time with Sam had been great, but now he missed the rest of his family. And he wanted to know more about what had happened to Claire. Surely she had opened up to Meredith by now.

The brothers changed out of their suites and packed up their things, loading their bags into the Impala before walking the two blocks to the diner.

Sam listened in to Dean's half of the conversation when he called Meredith to let her know they'd be headed back down to Georgia in a few hours, and couldn't help but smile.

"This domestic life really agrees with you, doesn't it?" he asked as they sat down in an empty booth.

"Who knew?" Dean replied as a waitress about Claire's age appeared beside the table with a smile. Her name was Ashley and she was probably the sweetest person in Reveille.

"Agent Starkey." she said smiling at Sam, and turned and even bigger smile toward Dean. "Agent Harrison. How are you guys doing tonight?"

Sam was pretty sure the girl had a crush on his brother even though she seemed to be head over heels in love with her boyfriend Paul.

"We're just fine, Ashley." Dean replied since her attention was still focused on him. Her small crush was hard to miss so he decided to throw her a bone. "How are you?"

Ashley blushed a tiny bit under the unexpected attention. "Oh, I'm fine. Have you made any progress finding that guy you're looking for?"

"No." Sam said truthfully. "We had information that said he was probably in the area, but it looks like it was a dead end."

Ashley frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess that means you'll be heading out pretty soon, huh?"

"Tonight actually." Dean confirmed, secretly enjoying her crestfallen reaction. Obviously, he was completely in love with Meredith and had set aside his former playboy ways, but it was always nice to get attention from the ladies, and Ashley was just so cute with her big blue eyes and wild brown curls. And she was clearly sad to see him go, which Dean couldn't help but feel flattered over. "We've got a lot of work to do."

"Okay, well, what can I get you?" she asked.

It was very clear to Sam and Dean that Ashley wanted to help in any way possible. She had been more than happy to answer all of their questions and now it was obvious that she had figured out that there was only one more thing she could do for them, and that was to feed them so they could get going.

"We should swing back by the bunker before we head back to Bristol." Sam said. "I only packed enough to get me through a few days." Not that he had much more than that at home, but why run up Dean and Meredith's water bill if it wasn't necessary?

"Sure." Dean agreed. He wanted to get home as soon as possible, but there was no sense in doing laundry every few days throughout Sam's indefinite stay. It would be much more practical to stop by the bunker on the way. "Looking for Brooke?" he asked when he noticed his brother scanning the room.

"No." Sam said, and realized Dean wasn't buying it. "Maybe. I just can't figure out why she's avoiding me."

"I don't think she is, Sam." Dean replied, having a little more knowledge of Brooke's life due to the fact that he had had more interaction with her. And her nosey mother. "She works three jobs and goes to school. And she's a single mom. She's busy."

Sam looked up from his meal. "She's got a kid?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Her mother mentioned him the other day when she cornered me. Wait...you don't think that's why she's avoiding you, do you?"

"How could I think that?" Sam asked. "I didn't even know she had a kid until just now."

"Exactly."

"What are you talking about, Dean?"

"Nora didn't mention how old the kid is, but I bet it's a pretty safe guess he's about ten."

The color drained out of Sam's face. "You think...he's mine?" His voice dropped down to a whisper on the last two words. "No way, Dean."

"Well, it _is_ possible." Dean said. "I mean, you did sleep with her the last time we were here."

"Yeah, but..."

Dean could see that Sam was about to argue that he had used protection, and it was clear that he couldn't remember if he had or not.

"Crap." Sam said.

"This case just got really interesting." Dean said.

"We have to go."

They were finished with their food, and Dean understood why Sam wanted to get as far away as possible, but he wasn't sure that was the best idea. "Don't you want to talk to her first? What if the kid is yours?"

"Then she obviously doesn't want me to know about him." Sam replied as he tossed some money on the table and headed for the door. "She would've told me by now if she did."

"We're not exactly the easiest guys to track down." Dean reminded him. "Maybe she wanted to tell you, but couldn't get a hold of you."

"Then she could've told me when I talked to her the other day." Sam said. "She doesn't want me here, Dean. So let's go."

"I don't really think that's a bomb she'd want to drop on you five minuets after finding out we're not dead, but okay. " Dean could see that his brother wasn't going to change his mind, which meant there was no use in arguing about it. If the kid was Sam's and Brooke wanted him to know she'd find a way to tell him. Dean had given her both his and Meredith's cell numbers in case she needed his help with anything. If she wanted to track down Sam all she had to do was call one of those numbers and they would pass the message along.

Sam didn't know Dean had given her the numbers. He thought about telling him, but decided not to. It would only freak him out more.

Sam practically ran back to the motel, wanting to get out of town as fast as possible. He knew he should probably stay and talk to Brooke, find out if the kid was his or not, but right now that idea was far too terrifying. He was more than ready to be an uncle, but not a father. In fact that was the last thing he felt he was ready for.

Yes, at some point he would like to have a family, and it was much more a possibility now that his life wasn't quite so full of world-threatening catastrophes that he himself had had a hand in unleashing, but this definitely wasn't the way he wanted it to happen. He was hoping for a more traditional approach. One where he could have time to get used to having a woman in his life before there was a child involved as well. That he could handle. He wasn't sure what you were supposed to do when the woman came with a kid that was already yours.

If the kid was even his to begin with.

He had to remind himself that Brooke's son might not be his son as he climbed into the Impala and shut the door. Dean had said he didn't know how old the boy was, so for all Sam knew it was a three-year-old that couldn't possibly have any connection to him. And even if the boy was the right age that didn't necessarily mean he was Sam's. Ben Braeden had been the right age, but he hadn't been Dean's kid. Not biologically anyway, though Sam had no doubt that by the end both Dean and Ben were more than content to be father and son.

Sam couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it had been for Dean to let Ben and Lisa go. That thought only made him happier that Dean had found his way back to Meredith, and they had been able to make their relationship work so well. Based on what he heard, and the bits and pieces he had actually witnessed, they were pretty close to perfect.

Sam realized as Dean put the car in reverse that he wanted what his brother had, but his thoughts weren't allowed to go any further because he glanced in the side mirror and saw a surprising figure standing behind the car.

"Dean!" Sam shouted because his brother wasn't paying close enough attention to what was behind them. Or maybe Dean _couldn't_ see him.

Dean slammed on the brakes, and looked at his brother. "What?"

"Gabriel."

"Gabriel?" Dean repeated, confused as to why Sam was bringing up a dead angel until he turned around and saw that dead angel standing right behind them. Had Sam not shouted when he did they would've hit him. "What the hell?"

"Hi guys." Gabriel said as Sam and Dean climbed out of the car. "Miss me?"

"How are you here?" Dean asked. "I thought Lucifer killed you."

"What, you think you two and Cas are the only ones that are allowed to be resurrected?" Gabriel shot back.

"So...God brought you back?" Sam asked, still confused. "When? Why?"

"Gee thanks, Sam." Gabriel said. "That makes me feel just great. But no. God had nothing to do with this. I _am_ the Trickster, remember? My brother may be older than me, and a heck of a lot grumpier, but do you really think I'm not good enough at my game to outsmart him? I grew up with him. I know how he thinks. Couldn't you pull the wool over Dean's eyes if you had to?"

"No." Sam admitted, thinking back to how he hadn't been able to fool Dean for long with anything. "Not really."

"Well, you're not me, now are you?"

"So, you faked your death...twice in one day, and then what?" Dean said trying to figure out what Gabriel was doing here. "Just dropped off the map?"

"Not quite." Gabriel said. "I've found ways to keep myself busy."

"The omens." Sam said suddenly. "That was you?"

Gabriel nodded. "What better way to get you here than to make you think there was something that needed killing?"

"Well, that's just great." Dean said. "Now, would you mind getting out of the way? I'd like to get home to my family."

"Not so fast." Gabriel said, wagging a finger in the air.

"Look, angel boy." Dean said, annoyance and impatience giving his voice a rough edge and darkening his face. He took a threatening step toward the archangel. "I don't know what you're up to here, but I'm sick and tired of playing your games. I don't know if you heard while you were off island hopping, or whatever you were doing while we all thought you were dead, but I've got a girlfriend back home that's just a few weeks away from giving birth to my kid, and I'm not about to miss that because of you. There's nothing for us here."

"Maybe not for you." Gabriel said. "But there's definitely something here for Sam. And you've already figured it out, haven't you? You just don't want to admit that it's true. But you know it is."

Sam's stomach turned over. "Brooke's son."

"Ding, ding, ding!" Gabriel announced. "We have a winner. Congratulations to both of you on becoming fathers."

"Why all the theatrics?" Dean asked. "Why fake a demon to get us here? Why even bother with it at all? It's none of your business whether Brooke tells Sam about the kid or not."

"First of all, I was only trying to get Sam here. Not both of you, though it is nice to see your lovely face again, Dean." Gabriel clarified. "And secondly, when I found out that little Trevor is a Winchester by blood, how could I resist? I know you guys think I'm nothing more than an annoying fly that needs to be swatted, but I honestly do like the both of you. Now that we've taken care of the whole Apocalypse thing I really just want to see you guys happy. I'd have done this sooner if you two goobers didn't keep unleashing mayhem every time you turn around.

"Thanks for killing Death, by the way, Dean. That worked out just wonderfully. Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to clean up _that_ mess? Turns out Reapers don't work so well without the big man. Took me a while to get them back in order because Cas was too busy being held hostage by Rowena and putting Heaven back in working order, but let's get back to what really matters here.

"Now that we're back to just plain old, everyday monster stuff I figured you might have some time on your plate to dedicate to your family, so I pulled a few strings, and here we are."

"They're not my family." Sam said. "And if Brooke wanted me to know she would've found a way to tell me."

"She tried." Gabriel said. "A couple of times actually, and then she finally gave up when she heard about the two of you burning to death in that helicopter explosion. She considered all the options. Abortion, adoption," He looked at Dean. "You know, the same things Meredith was considering not so long ago."

Sam looked at Dean. "You never told me that."

"I didn't see any reason to." Dean said, defending himself. "We decided to keep the baby, so what does it matter what she was thinking about doing? She was scared."

"So was Brooke." Gabriel said. "But she decided to keep the baby anyway."

"Why do you care about this?" Sam demanded.

"Did you miss the part where I said I want to see you happy?"

"But why are you going through so much trouble to make this happen?" Sam clarified. "Why are you getting involved at all?"

"Maybe because I know what it's like to be without a dad?" Gabriel suggested. "I mean, I don't know _exactly_ what Trevor's going through because my dad _was_ there in the beginning, but it's the same general idea. You guys know what it's like to grow up without a parent, right?"

"I still don't understand why you're going through all this trouble." Sam said.

"Because, Sam, Brooke and Trevor don't just need someone, though Nora's made it her mission in life to try to find them someone. Anyone. It's pretty entertaining actually." Gabriel said. "But I digress. They need _you_ , Sam. _You_ are the best man for the job. Brooke's never gonna find someone else because there is no one else. That night ten years ago was supposed to happen. It was _destined_ to happen. A cupid was involved and everything. We just didn't realize it was gonna take this long to get the two of you back together."

"So, you're saying Sam and Brooke are...are soul mates?" Dean asked.

Gabriel nodded. "Ever wonder why you and Meredith seem to fit so well, Dean?"

"But...we met Brooke and Meredith years ago." Sam said. "Way before we knew anything about the Apocalypse. Why bother to set us up with our soul mates if we were supposed to say yes to Michael and Lucifer and kill each other?"

"Plan B?" Gabriel said, shrugging. "I don't really know, but here we are. As far as I know, things have worked out just like they were supposed to. Dean, you loved Lisa, right? Probably would've married her at some point had things not gone screwy, adopted Ben and lived as one happy, monster-free family?"

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"But it didn't happen." Gabriel said. "Because it wasn't supposed to happen. _You_ were meant to be with Meredith. She saw it way before you did, but you had to go and get yourself dragged off to Hell. I mean, just look at the similarities between you and Jake. She was looking for someone like you because she couldn't have you."

"I'm already aware of all that." Dean said gruffly. "No need to rehash it."

Gabriel turned back to Sam. "Same thing's gonna happen to Brooke. Sam Winchester and Brook Bennett are supposed to be together, and if you don't do something about it now she's just gonna keep looking for someone _like_ you. And, like Meredith, she's just gonna get hurt when she realizes that he's not you."

Dean's phone rang and he stepped away to answer it when he saw that it was Claire.

Sam glanced after him, wondering if something was wrong, but quickly turned his attention back to Gabriel. "So, basically you're saying that I don't really have a choice in the matter."

"Pretty much." Gabriel said. "I mean, you can fight it if you want, but it would be so much easier to just give in. You'll be happy, Sam. I promise. She's a great girl, Trevor's a great kid. It's a match made in Heaven."

Sam had just decided that Gabriel was being sincere with this when Dean came back and announced that they had to leave.

"Why?" Sam asked, instantly worried. "What's wrong?"

"Baby's coming." Dean said.

"Now?"

"Yeah." Dean said. "Sorry, Gabe. I'd love to stick around and hear the rest of this, but we gotta go. Right now."

Gabriel didn't seem to have any problem with them leaving and he would've simply popped them back down to Georgia, but they peeled out of the parking lot before he could even suggest it. With a sigh he shook his head and snapped his fingers, popping himself over to Brooke and Trevor's apartment to check in on them.

They had no idea he was there, but he had taken it upon himself when he had found out about Trevor all those years ago to watch over the little family and keep them safe. It wasn't in his job description as archangel or Trickster, but he had chosen to make himself Brooke and Trevor's guardian angel as a favor to Sam. He was invested in the Winchesters' lives now, and after everything he had put them through leading up to the Apocalypse, he felt he owed them at least one good thing. There wasn't really much he could do for Dean. Cas had that covered pretty well. But he could look after Sam's family until Sam could do it himself. And, of course, Sam finding happiness would make Dean happy, so in a way he was doing something good for both brothers. And he truly enjoyed looking after the Bennetts.

%%%

"Cas, wait!" Meredith called as the angel started to leave the room.

The doctor had just announced that she was completely dilated and had asked everyone but Kim to leave.

"Stay." she requested when Cas paused.

"I don't have any business being in here, Meredith." Cas said.

"Please?" she asked. "I know everyone's said there's nothing to worry about, but I'm still scared. I'd feel much better if you stayed."

Cas hesitated by the door for a moment. He had access to Jimmy's memories of Claire's birth, but had no actual experience with one. He felt awkward and uncertain being here right now, and while he was flattered that she had asked him to stay he wasn't sure he was prepared to witness this particular miracle.

But he did want Meredith not to worry about what might happen. That wouldn't help the situation any, and Dean would probably want him to stay as well since he couldn't be there himself. Hadn't he already promised Dean that he would watch over this family? Hadn't he promised _himself_ he would watch over this family? Meredith was his friend after all, and if she wanted him to hold her hand while she brought her child into the world wasn't that exactly what he should do?

So, he crossed back to her bedside and took her hand, not entirely sure if that's really what she wanted him to do or if she simply wanted him in the room. He was relieved when she grasped his hand and smiled up at him gratefully.

"Thank you." she said, and squeezed his hand as the next contraction hit.

"Push!" the doctor directed, and Cas was amazed at the strength his friend possessed as her grip turned vice-like.

Maybe it was better that it was his hand she was crushing and not Dean's. Kim was clearly in pain on the other side of the bed, but Cas was fine. Yes, he felt the bruising pressure she was putting on his hand, but as an angel it didn't really bother him. He could endure much more than a human could, which was probably a blessing in this situation.

It wasn't long before Cas was watching Kim cut her niece's umbilical cord, and a little while later the baby was placed in his arms. Cas didn't know what to say, but he immediately decided that nothing was ever going to harm this child.

The doctor and nurses finally left the room, and Cas gently placed Kit in her mother's arms. "She's beautiful."

Meredith smiled at him and then placed a soft kiss on her daughter's tiny head, remembering something Dean had told her about his mother. "Angels really are watching over you, Kitten."

 **So, whatcha thinkin'? Fun chapter, right? Did anyone else cry at that last little bit? Because I cried. As much as I loved working with Gabriel, I think Cas meeting Kit was my favorite part of the whole thing. And just wait until next chapter when Sam and Dean meet her. This story's a lot fluffier than the others because of that tiny little baby, and I'm really enjoying focusing on the family side of things more than the supernatural side of things. Anyway, I know at least one of you probably enjoyed this chapter as much as I did, but I hope all of you did. Feel free to let me know what you thought. Y'all know I love your reviews! ~SG**

 **P.S. On a grammatical side note because it's driving me crazy, does anyone know if archangel should be capitalized or not? Neither one looks right to me, and yet they both look right (Archangel, archangel). I looked online, but that didn't help at all.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Katharine Ross Winchester was six pounds, four ounces, and about nineteen inches long, having made her way into the world about three weeks early. She was premature, but she was healthy and alive, and so was Meredith. That's all Dean cared about.

They had been stopped at a gas station, having decided to skip Kansas and drive straight back to Bristol Ridge, when Meredith had called him. Kim and Cas had been right by her side, there had been no complications, and Dean had promptly burst into tears. Partly out of joy that he had a healthy baby girl waiting for him, and partly out of sadness because he had missed the birth. It wasn't until he had talked to Meredith that he had realized that he wouldn't have missed the birth if they had simply asked Gabriel to zap them home, but it was too late now. His child had arrived, and he had missed it, but he was on his way to meet her right now.

Almost as soon as he hung up with Meredith she sent him a pair of pictures. One featured both of his girls, and the other was a close-up of Kit. That only made Dean cry harder. So hard, in fact, that he actually had to sit down. He simply could not believe he had actually made it to this point in his life. A wish he had carried in his heart for so long had finally come true. He had a family of his own.

Sam was alarmed when he came out of the little convenience store and found his brother sitting on the ground beside the Impala with tears running down his face. Having no way to know what had caused those tears, his mind automatically went to the worst case scenario. Either Kit or Meredith hadn't made it through the birthing process. Or maybe Dean had lost both of them.

Sam's heart was breaking for his brother when he crouched beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Dean?"

Dean didn't say anything, simply handed Sam the phone. He knew what his brother must be thinking, but was unable to explain because he was too overcome with emotion.

Sam looked down and saw a photo of a tiny newborn baby. He scrolled back when he couldn't go forward and found a picture of both Meredith and Kit. Suddenly he understood why Dean was crying. It wasn't because Meredith or Kit had died. It was because Meredith and Kit were alive. He flipped back to the photo of his niece and couldn't help but smile as he teared up too. "Wow." was all he could say.

They were just outside Washington, D.C. and still had about four hours of driving left, but Dean didn't care about speed limits. Dean had never paid much attention to speed limits, but this time he was pushing Baby as fast as she would go down the interstate. Sam understood why, but he hoped they didn't get pulled over. A cop would probably understand, but probably wouldn't really care that Dean had a newborn waiting to meet him.

%%%

Night had fallen by the time Dean finally whipped into a parking spot at the hospital, and he and Sam ran inside and quickly found out what room Meredith was in, and that Kit was in the nursery. Sam started to go to Meredith's room, but changed directions when he realized Dean was headed for the nursery. Of course he would go see Kit first.

When they arrived at the nursery a smiling nurse happily deposited a tiny newborn wrapped in a pink blanket in Dean's arms, and showed him to a chair so he could spend some time with his little girl.

"Look at her, Sammy." he said, in awe of the child in his arms. He glanced up at his brother, grinning with a look of pure joy and disbelief on his face. "I'm a father."

Sam smiled back. He had seen Dean happy before, but never in his life could he remember seeing him _this_ happy. "I'm surprised at how natural this looks."

"I'm surprised at how natural it _feels_." Dean said. "Wanna hold her?"

"Yeah." Sam said, carefully taking the sleeping baby from his brother. "She's so tiny. I feel like I'm holding nothing."

"She'll grow." the nurse said, smiling at the sight of two grown men that were probably pretty tough absolutely loosing it over a baby. It was something she had seen many times in her line of work, but it never failed to make her smile. "Fast. And she's a preemie too, so she's smaller than she would've been had she been born full term."

"That's not gonna cause problems, is it?" Dean asked, sounding every bit the worried new father.

"Nah." the nurse said. "Your little girl is perfectly healthy. She's just small, but she'll catch up quick. Is she your first?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah." Emma didn't really count, Ben wasn't really relevant.

"How about you?" the nurse asked Sam, sensing that he was Dean's brother and not his partner based on the way they were acting with each other. "Does she have any little cousins?"

Sam was still amazed that six pounds could feel so light. Not that six pounds was all that much, but still. Even knowing his niece was premature and would be smaller than other babies, he had expected her to be heavier for some reason. Maybe because he had never actually held a newborn baby. "Not from me." he said, and then remembered that it wasn't a true statement. Kit did have a cousin from him. Trevor Bennett.

"She's got two on her mother's side." Dean said, noting the look on Sam's face and correctly guessing what had caused it. He'd forgotten about his son, and then he had remembered.

The nurse chatted with them for a little longer, and then gave them some privacy.

"I'm gonna go see Meredith." Sam announced as he carefully transferred Kit back to the safety and love of her father's arms.

"I'll be up in a little while." Dean said, and when he looked back down at his daughter she was awake and gazing up at him. A smile spread across his face. "Hi. I'm your daddy."

He had never thought those words would come out of his mouth, and he felt tears welling up in his eyes again as he smiled down at his daughter. This was by far the happiest day of his life, and he was slightly alarmed when Kit began crying, but acted quickly, and instead of panicking he began to sing.

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad." he sang. "Take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better."

Amazingly, Kit stopped crying and stared up at him as if she knew exactly who he was and that he would never let anything bad happen to her.

"My mom used to sing that to me when I was a kid." he said. "I never thought I'd get to sing it to you."

He sang the rest of the song, and to his utter amazement Kit listened to the whole thing, including the na-na-na-nas at the end. When the song was over she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep, and Dean spent another hour in the hospital nursery simply staring at her, memorizing every inch of her, imprinting this moment permanently on his brain. He gave her a kiss and told her he loved her before handing her back to the nurse and going to see his girlfriend.

%%%

"There he is." Sam said, smiling as Dean entered the room.

Once again he found Meredith in a hospital bed, but at least this time it wasn't the result of anything bad. He had expected her to be asleep, and she did look tired, but she was wide awake. Sam was in a chair by the bed, but he was the only other person in the room. Apparently everyone else had gone home.

Dean walked over and gave Meredith a hug and a kiss. "Hey."

Meredith smiled up at him. "Hey."

Sam rose from his chair. "I think I'll give you two some privacy."

He went back down to the nursery and stood outside the window gazing in at all the newborns, and then simply roamed around the hospital grounds for a while.

Today had given him a lot to think about what with Gabriel's revelations about soul mates and Trevor, and now seeing how happy Dean was with his little family. And of course he hadn't been able to keep his mind from wondering what it would be like to hold his own child when he had been holding Kit. He definitely had some decisions to make.

If Gabriel was right about Brooke being his soul mate then they would be able to make things work out and he could settle down with a family. He'd be the one spending over an hour in a hospital nursery holding his child while Dean sat up in a hospital room with Brooke.

But just because someone was your soul mate did that really mean everything would work out? Obviously Dean and Meredith were doing well, but he wasn't Dean and Brooke wasn't Meredith. He didn't even know Brooke. If they did decide to try having a relationship would they really be able to make it work and be together forever just because there was some Enochian symbol etched on their hearts from a cupid's arrow? Or did it simply mean that if they couldn't make it work with each other they wouldn't be able to make it work with anyone else either?

Sam thought about calling Gabriel and asking him to explain things a little better, but decided not to. He was still trying to wrap his head around Gabriel being alive, and although he hadn't had a ton of interaction with the angel, he still knew him well enough to know that Gabriel would only push him to accept his destiny or whatever, and he obviously needed to talk to Brooke before he made any decisions involving her and her kid.

Even if Gabriel was right it was still up to Brooke, and probably Trevor too, as to whether Sam had any involvement in their lives. Enochian love brand or not.

%%%

Back in Meredith's room Dean had squeezed into the bed beside her with his arms around her, and was happy to have the feel of her body against his again. Screw gardens, and roadhouses, and Ramones concerts. This was Heaven. The only thing missing was Kit, and she wasn't far away.

"I'm sorry I missed it."

"It's not your fault, Dean." she said. "It's not anyone's fault. You needed some time off, and I really didn't think she'd come three weeks early. The important thing is that you're here now, as cheesy as that sounds."

"I'm never leaving again."

She looked up at him. "Remember what we said about promises."

"It's not a promise." he said and kissed her forehead, tightening his arms around her ever so slightly. "It's the truth. Hellhounds couldn't drag me away from my family. Not after everything I went through to get here."

Meredith smiled and nuzzled her face against his neck. "I meant what I said about you hunting."

"Let's not have that conversation now."

"Do you still enjoy hunting?"

"Meredith."

"Do you still enjoy hunting?" she repeated, demanding an answer.

Dean sighed. "Yeah. Of course I do, but—"

"But nothing." she said. "Obviously I can't make you hunt, and I won't try to, but everything I said the other day is still true. I don't want you to give it up if it's something you still want to do. I know you think hunting and family life don't mix well, but since when have you not been able to do something that should be impossible? I have every reason to believe that if we really want to make it work we can."

"And you'd really be okay with it?"

Meredith nodded. "It's no different than being with a cop, or a fireman, or a soldier. Your job is dangerous, but you love doing it, and I don't want to keep you from something you love. And relationships are difficult no matter what the job is."

"Why are you so certain that we can make this work?" he asked. "Balancing family life and hunting? I tried it with Lisa, and it didn't work."

"I'm not Lisa."

"No, you're not." _You're my soul mate._ Of course they could make it work. They were meant to make it work. There was literally a mark on his heart that said so. Dean wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he was sure how he felt about her. He kissed her forehead again. "I love you."

Meredith smiled. "I love you, too, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't get too chick flick-y on me." Dean cautioned. "There's only so much I can handle."

Meredith giggled and gave him a gentle push. "Oh, please. You may be a deadly hunter, but you're also a big teddy bear, and you know it."

"Don't even get me started on big teddy bears."

"So, what happened with that demon?" she asked as Sam came back in.

"Wasn't a demon." Sam said.

Meredith was confused. "I thought you said you were going to check out a demon. Did I misunderstand something?"

"No, you heard right." Dean said. "We were played. There was no demon."

"Okay." she said, still confused. She could've sworn Claire and Dean had told her there were demonic omens in the area. "Then what was it?"

"Gabriel." Sam said.

"Gabriel the Archangel?"

"Yeah. The class clown of Heaven." Dean said. "We thought he was dead, but apparently he's just been in hiding all these years doing God knows what."

"So...it was a Trickster thing?" Meredith asked, trying to understand what was going on. "He just decided it was safe to come out of hiding to play some stupid joke on the two of you? That's ridiculous."

"There's more to it than that, but I don't really want to get into it."

Meredith still didn't understand, but she wasn't going to push Sam to talk. Apparently whatever Gabriel was up to had more to do with Sam than Dean, and she really had no business prying into Sam's affairs. Not that she would've pushed Dean to talk either.

"We don't really know the whole story yet." Dean said.

"Speaking of incomplete stories, what's going on with Claire?"

"She didn't tell you?" Sam asked, surprised. Meredith and Claire had grown pretty close since killing Rowena, and he had thought that if anyone was going to get Claire to open up about what had happened it would be Meredith.

Dean had shifted so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed now, and Meredith finally moved into a half-sitting position, propped up against her pillows in the raised bed. She tucked a few loose strands of hair that had come out of her ponytail behind her ear. "She told me the basics, but I think there's more going on here than she's letting on."

"Yeah, me too." Sam agreed.

"So, you guys think she lied about what happened at school?" Dean asked, having felt that there was something missing from the story as well.

"I don't think she lied." Meredith said. "I think what she told us is true, but I think there's more to it. I think something else happened or she wouldn't be reacting to it like she is."

"So, what do we do?" Dean asked. He had been willing to follow Claire's lead on this, but now that Meredith was questioning what was going on he was far more concerned.

"I don't think there's anything we _can_ do, Dean." Sam said. "You were right. We just have to be patient with her, and let her tell us when she's ready. If we try to force it out of her she'll just run away."

"Great." Dean muttered. He didn't like the idea of Claire keeping secrets. He was well aware of what happened when you kept secrets. It always ended up blowing up in your face. He didn't like the idea that anyone or anything was causing her pain or fear, and he definitely didn't like that she apparently didn't feel like she could talk to her family about this. Surely she had to know that whatever it was she could come to him, or Sam, or Meredith, or any of them. He knew she had pretty much grown up on her own after her father had begged Cas to use him as a vessel instead of her, but she had to know by now that she wasn't on her own anymore.

Meredith seemed to sense what he was thinking and reached out to gently rub his back. "She'll open up to someone eventually, and we'll figure out what to do. Try not to worry about it too much, Dean."

"How can I not worry about it?" he asked. "She's like my little sister. How would you feel if it was Kim?"

"The same way if feel about Claire." Meredith said. "But there's nothing we can do about it right now, Dean, except love her. She knows we're all here for her, and she'll talk about it when she's ready."

"Meredith's right, Dean." Sam said. "You know we can't make her talk. You're the one that told me that a few days ago."

"I know." Dean said, running his hand over his face. "But that was a few days ago. I just hate seeing people I care about hurting, and not being able to do anything about it. Everyone knows that."

Sam had a feeling his current dilemma wasn't helping the situation any either. Dean was a fixer. No matter what the problem, as long as it was someone else's, he had an undeniable need to fix it. Sell his soul to bring his brother back, force his brother's soul back in and then trick his brother into letting an angel possess him when the wall crumbled, take the Mark of Cain in order to kill Abaddon, do whatever he had to do, including laying his own life on the line in order to save as many people as he could and fix whatever problems arose. Over the years Sam had finally come to accept that it was never going to change. That's just who Dean was, and now Sam had just found out he had a kid, and Claire had something serious going on that she wouldn't talk about. Dean couldn't fix either of these things, and Sam felt bad that he had to watch two of the people he cared most about struggle with their problems.

But there was nothing he could do to change the situation. Claire's problem might be fixable, but they would have to wait until she was ready to ask for their help, and Sam obviously had to make his decisions about Brooke and Trevor on his own. He might ask his brother for advice, but ultimately there was nothing Dean could really do to help. It was up to Sam and Brooke and Trevor as to how they handled the situation.

"Everything will get worked out." Sam said, trying to ease his brother's worries. "You just focus on what you do best."

"Which is?" Dean asked.

Sam smiled. "Taking care of your family."

"And how am I supposed to do that when my family won't tell me what's wrong?" Dean snapped.

"Dean." Meredith said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Sammy." Dean apologized. "It's been a long day."

"I'm gonna head back to the house." Sam said, accepting Dean's apology without saying so. "You coming?"

"No, you go on." Dean said, tossing Sam the keys. "I'm staying here."

Sam walked over and said goodnight to Meredith, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and left the hospital, finding Claire asleep in one of the guest rooms when he got back to Dean and Meredith's house. Cas was no where to be found and all the lights across the street were out, so he checked to make sure the house was properly locked and salted and turned in for the night. He had had a long day too.

 **And now Dean's world is complete. And Sam's considering things he never thought he'd have to consider. And everyone's worried about Claire. AND KIT IS HERE, YAY! I swear, Dean Winchester with a kid is just the best thing ever. ~SG**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Oh, good. You're here." Nora Bennett said excitedly as she practically dragged her daughter into the house, Trevor following.

"You invited us for dinner, Ma." Brooke reminded her mother, suspicious of her over-enthusiasm. "Of course we're here. What's going on?"

Nora smiled. "Come in, come in. There's someone I want you to meet."

At that Brooke dug her heels in and refused to go any further. "Ma, no. Why do you do this?"

"Do what?" Nora asked innocently.

"You know what."

"I promise you I don't." Nora insisted. "What is it you think I'm trying to do?"

"Fix me up." Brooke said. "Again."

"Fix you up?" Nora repeated. "Brooke, sweetheart, I'm not trying to fix you up. I have a new neighbor, and I invited him to join us for dinner is all. Now, come on. I want you to meet him. I think you'll like him. He's a very nice man."

No matter what her mother said Brooke knew she was being fixed up. Nora wouldn't be this excited if she was simply introducing her daughter to the new neighbor, and Brooke shot a deadly glare at her younger brother when she was practically shoved into the living room.

"Is your phone broken?" she hissed.

Nate, who had clearly been here long enough to understand what their mother was up to, simply shrugged.

"Brooke," Nora said once she finally stopped pushing her daughter and gestured to the other man in the room who had risen from his seat to greet Brooke. "This is Gabriel. Gabriel, this is my daughter, Brooke."

"Nice to meet you." Gabriel said, extending his hand politely.

Brooke, knowing it wasn't Gabriel's fault he had become a pawn in her mother's grand match-making scheme, smiled at him and shook his hand. "You too."

Gabriel, Brooke decided, was one of the better attempts her mother had made at finding her a man. He didn't look like he was much older than she was, and he was a lot better looking than some of the men her mother had tried to shove at her. Not quite six feet tall and not exactly drop dead gorgeous, but he was a fairly handsome guy with friendly hazel eyes, dark blonde hair, and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache that thankfully didn't seem to be headed toward Duck Dynasty level like the last guy her mother had introduced her to, who had been nice enough, but all wrong for Brooke. She doubted Gabriel would be her match made in Heaven, but at least he was dressed nicely and she didn't feel the need to hand him a razor and go wash her hands. Nora had really been scraping the bottom of the barrel lately, but Gabriel looked like a guy that Brooke might have actually been interested in talking to had she met him somewhere other than her mother's living room.

She reminded herself to cut him some slack because even though this was her mother's doing Gabriel could turn out to be a great guy.

"And this is my grandson Trevor." Nora said, ushering the boy forward.

Trevor was shy around strangers, but he didn't seem to have any problem shaking Gabriel's hand and saying hello to him. Brooke and Nate exchanged a look of amazement, both having witnessed the boy duck his head and shy away every single time he was introduced to someone new. The sudden change in her son immediately caught Brooke's attention, and she thought back to Dean Winchester asking her to keep an eye out for anything strange.

It had been about a week since Sam and Dean had left town, having found no sign of a demon possessing any of her neighbors, but it was so unusual to see Trevor interacting so easily with a stranger that she couldn't help but be concerned. She wasn't sure whether or not Gabriel was some kind of supernatural creature, or if there was something wrong with her son, but either way she thought it best to have the situation analyzed by a professional. Hopefully Dean would tell her there was nothing to worry about.

"Will you guys excuse me for a minute?" she said suddenly, standing from her spot on the couch beside her brother.

"Is everything okay?" Nora asked.

"Yeah." Brooke assured her. "I just realized I forgot to make an important call earlier. I won't be long."

She stepped outside and found Dean's number in her phone, glad he had thought to give it to her just in case.

"Hello?"

"Dean?" she said. "It's Brooke."

"Brooke, hey." Dean replied, sounding tired, but oddly alert at the same time. "What's up?"

"I'm not sure." she admitted. "Hopefully nothing, but I figured it was best to run it by you."

"I'm listening."

"My mother invited us over for dinner tonight so she can try to set me up with her new neighbor." Brooke explained. "He seems nice enough, but my son didn't have any problem meeting him."

"Is that unusual?" Dean asked.

"Very." she confirmed. "Trevor's super shy around new people, but he just walked up and shook this guy's hand. I don't know if he's just growing out of his shyness, or if there's something wrong with him. Or if maybe it's Gabriel."

"Wait." Dean asked. "Gabriel?"

"Yeah."

"What's he look like?"

"Hang on. I'll send you a picture."

The curtains were open, and she was able to covertly snap a picture of Gabriel in the living room with her family. "Do you know him?" she asked after she had sent the picture.

"Yeah." Dean said after getting a look at the man in question. "I won't say he's exactly harmless, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. He's an angel."

"An angel? As in literally?

"Archangel to be exact." Dean said. "Most of the angels we've met are giant dicks, but you're probably pretty safe with Gabriel."

Brooke gazed into the living room and watched Gabriel laugh at something Trevor had said. "My mother is trying to set me up with an Archangel?"

"I doubt that's how he introduced himself when she met him."

"And you're sure there's nothing I need to be worried about?" she asked. "I mean, Archangels are supposed to be a pretty big deal, right?"

"I'm not gonna lie." Dean said. "Angels can get pretty dangerous, and back when we first met Gabriel I would've told you to get your family as far away from him as possible, but I'm pretty sure he's one of the good guys now."

"Okay." Brooke said. "How do I kill him if you're wrong?"

"He's got a blade that'll work." Dean said. "It's the only thing that'll kill an angel other than smiting, but I doubt you'll be able to get it away from him."

"So, what do I do if he turns out to be a bad guy?"

"There is one thing." Dean said. "I'll have to send you a picture, but it's called a sigil. It's basically angel repellent. It has to be drawn in human blood, but slap your hand in the center and it'll zap his ass back to Heaven. It won't keep him there, but it'll buy you some time. I really don't think you'll need it, but better safe than sorry."

"And what about Trevor?" Brooke asked. "Are kids just naturally drawn to angels, or is he possessed?"

"It's probably nothing to worry about, but if he's possessed there are ways to check." Dean said. "It could be a ghost, a demon, or an angel. I have no idea how to check if it's an angel, but it's probably not. You probably don't have an EMF reader, but you know about cold spots, and there will probably be ectoplasm if it's a ghost."

"What does ectoplasm look like?"

"Black or green goo. It'll probably leak out his ear or his eye."

"Ew." Brooke said. "What if it's a demon?"

"Have you seen any little piles of yellow powder or smelled rotten eggs?"

"You mean like sulfur?"

"Exactly."

"No."

"Okay, well demons will also flinch if you say _Christo_."

" _Christo_. Got it."

"There's more." Dean said before she could hang up. "Holy water. Do you have a crucifix?"

"No."

"Then stick with _Christo_."

"What do I do if he is possessed?"

"You already know how to get rid of a ghost. Burn the remains or whatever it's attached to." Dean explained. "If it's a demon you can have Gabriel smite it or kill it with his angel blade, but that would kill Trevor too, so I'm thinking you'll want to go with exorcism. I'll send you the exorcism and a picture of a devil's trap."

"What's a devil's trap?"

"Basically a pentagram with some other symbols drawn in it. If you can get the demon inside it'll be powerless, and you can use the exorcism to send it back to Hell where it belongs."

"Dose it have to be drawn in blood too?"

"No."

"Good." Suddenly Brooke could hear a baby wailing in the background.

"Hey, I gotta go, but I'll send you that stuff. Say hi to Gabriel for me."

"Thanks Dean." Brooke hung up and went back inside. Her mother was in the kitchen, and Nate, Trevor, and Gabriel were headed out to the backyard with a football.

"Wanna come with us, Mom?" Trevor asked. "You can be the cheerleader."

"Sorry, kiddo. Mommy doesn't cheerlead."

"Mommy's the girl that put hair dye in the cheerleaders' shampoo bottles." Nate added.

"Ouch." Gabriel commented.

Nate grinned. "My girlfriend's hair was green for a week."

"Barbie Spice shouldn't have called me an anorexic punk rock freak." Brooke said, shrugging as if there was nothing that could've been done about it. "I don't let bullies win."

"Why didn't she just dye her hair back?" Trevor asked.

"Because her parents found out what she said to me, and decided neon green hair was a better punishment than grounding."

Trevor suddenly ran over and grabbed his mother's hand, pulling her toward the back door. "Come play with us, Mom!"

"You guys go have fun." Brooke said when her phone chirped at her, letting her know she had a message from Dean. She loved spending time with her kid, but this might not be her kid. "I'm gonna go see if Grandma needs any help in the kitchen."

Trevor wasn't too heart broken, and Brooke was relieved that she didn't see, smell, or feel any obvious signs of possession. She couldn't exactly work _Christo_ into the conversation with a nine-year-old easily, but she had another idea.

As Gabriel moved to follow Nate and Trevor out the door she blocked his path and spoke quietly. "Dean Winchester says hi, by the way."

"Actually," Gabriel said, realizing his cover had been blown. "I think I'll stay in here and get to know Brooke a little. That is why I was invited after all."

"You're busted, Ma!" Nate shouted toward the kitchen.

Nora appeared in the doorway. "Get out of my house with that football, Nathan Bennett. You're in big trouble if you break something." She smiled at Brooke and Gabriel and went back to cooking, leaving them alone in the hallway.

"Look," Gabriel said, holding his hands up. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. I'm not a monster."

"No." she said. "You're an angel, and I know how to get rid of you if you piss me off."

"Dully noted."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm looking after your family." he said truthfully. "You know, like a guardian angel."

"Dean said you're an archangel."

"Archangel, Trickster, Reaper wrangler, I wear a lot of hats." Gabriel said. "Let's just say I have an interest in your family. I've been watching over you guys for years now."

"Why?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Favor for a friend."

"Is my son possessed?" she asked point blank. She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling he would know.

"Why, because he likes me?" Gabriel asked. "No. I promise you that boy is one hundred percent Trevor."

"Then why is he so comfortable around you?" Brooke demanded.

"Like I said, I've been watching over your family for years."

"So, he knows you?"

"Not exactly." Gabriel said. "He's never seen me until today, but I've been hanging around you two since he was three. I've just been...invisible. And yes, I know how creepy that sounds, but I promise I've been a completely respectful invisible angel stalker."

"So..." Brooke said, amazingly only slightly weirded out by this news. "You've just been hanging out in my apartment, playing The Invisible Man for six years, and what? Just...watching us?"

"Making sure you stay safe." Gabriel corrected.

"You said you're doing this as a favor for a friend." She said. "Does this have anything to do with Sam or Dean?"

"Sort of, but not in the way you're thinking." Gabriel assured her. "They didn't ask me to do this. I took the job on myself."

"Why?" Brooke asked again, still trying to understand why her family warranted the protection of an archangel.

"It's a long story, and I don't think you really want to hear it all tonight." Gabriel said. "Not after finding out that your mom's trying to fix you up with an angel that's basically been living with you for the last six years. But I will tell you this. You need to talk to Sam."

Suddenly the pieces fell into place. Gabriel was watching over them not because Sam or Dean had asked him to, but because he knew that Trevor was Sam's son. Based on what Dean had told her it didn't sound like the Winchesters had a very good relationship with Gabriel, but Brooke wasn't in the mood to ask any more questions. She had a feeling there was a _lot_ more going on here than an archangel doing a favor for a friend.

%%%

"I don't know, Dean." Sam said, amused at the sight of his brother pacing around the small nursery, gently bouncing his daughter who refused to go down for a nap. Meredith was sound asleep in the next room, but apparently Kit would rather scream while her father and uncle discussed Fate than take a cue from her mother. "I mean, what about everything we went through with the Apocalypse, fighting for free will and all. Are we just supposed to throw all that away and accept that a cupid's already decided who we're gonna end up with?"

"I'm all for making your own destiny, Sammy. Really, I am." Dean said, internally begging his wailing child to shut up, and wondering how Meredith was sleeping through it. "But in this case I don't see any sense in fighting it. I mean, I know she tried to kill us, but Fate's been pretty good to me recently. I've got an actual, paying job, a nice house to live in, a smart, beautiful woman that loves me for reasons beyond my comprehension, and this adorable little poop factory that is currently doing a _very_ good job of giving Daddy a migraine. Could you at least turn the volume down, Kitten?"

Kit apparently didn't care about her father's headache.

"So, you're saying I should just go along with it?"

"No." Dean said. "Yes. Well...sort of. All I'm saying is that me and Meredith, and you and Brooke...we all have the same little Enochian angel tattoo on our hearts, right? It worked out great for me, except maybe this particular moment. Why should it be any different for you? I think you should at least talk to her. I mean, it's not like you just ran into a random hook up. Trevor's _your_ kid. Who cares how or why it happened? You've got a family, Sam, and Secret Angel Man's getting fixed up right now with a woman that literally has your name written on her heart because he's trying to...I don't know, make up for all the crap he put us through."

"They're not my family, Dean." Sam insisted. "I don't even know them. Brooke thought we were dead until a week ago."

"Yeah, well, now she knows we're not dead, and angels are getting involved." Dean said. "You know what happens when angels get involved, Sam. Do you really want Gabriel riding your ass for the rest of your life? Because you know he will if you don't at least talk to her. I don't care if you go up there and do it face to face, or if you call her, or if you have the whole conversation over Facebook with those creepy little smiley face things. Just talk to her, Sam. Please."

"Emojis."

"What?"

"Those creepy little smiley face things are called emojis." Sam said.

"Whatever. Go call Brooke." Dean turned his attention back to Kit. "And you, you little early bird, you really need to stop screaming in my ear and _please_ go to sleep."

"I don't think she's listening, Dean."

"Oh, she's listening." Dean said. "She's just hoping to get a concert out of the deal."

In the week since she had been born it hadn't failed once. When Kit was being fussy all Dean had to do was sing to her and she calmed right down. He had been holding off on it this time, hoping she would eventually cry herself out and go to sleep without the sixties medley, because Sam was in the room, but it looked like Kit was going to win their stand-off.

"Alright, fine. You win." Dean said, and launched into a version of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love", which seemed to be one of her favorites so far.

Now he had her attention and the crying began to fade. Sam couldn't help but smile as he sat on the ottoman and watched his brother serenade his niece with a song choice that had to have been influenced by Meredith.

One Four Tops and a Marvin Gaye later Kit was asleep, and Sam was impressed with his brother's new knowledge of Motown tunes.

"Gee, Dean." Sam teased. "Did you ever sing to me like that?"

"Shut up." Dean shot back as he placed the baby in the crib and leaned down to kiss her. "Can you imagine Dad ever doing anything like that with either one of us?"

"No." Sam said. "Did he?"

"Not that I remember." Dean replied. "But to be perfectly honest, Sammy, I really don't remember much about Dad back then. I remember Mom, and I remember Dad after she died. Which is why I don't want to be anything like him with Kit. I know I always defended him, and I know he did the best he could, but I don't want my kid to turn out like me."

"Honestly, Dean?" Sam said, looking up at his brother. "I think she'll be just fine if she turns out like you. You didn't turn out like Dad."

"Thanks. Now go call Brooke."

Sam left the room, but didn't call Brooke, and Dean dropped into the nursery chair, dozing off with a ruffly pink throw pillow in his lap.

 **I can't decide which was my favorite part of this chapter. Brooke realizing her mother is trying to set her up with an archangel, the part where she and Nate explained about what happened with Barbie Spice back in high school, the emojis, or Dean singing Motown. I know there was a large chunk that was just rehashing things we already know, but Brooke's pretty new to this stuff, so hopefully you weren't too bored with it. And there were all those other fun little moments to spice it up a little. This was definitely a fun chapter to write.**

 **And speaking of writing...this is chapter seven and I'm not even finished writing chapter nine yet. Hopefully I can stay ahead of myself with this, but there may end up being a lull in posting. I can edit and post a chapter a day, but I'm not sure I can _write_ , edit, and post a chapter a day. So please bear with me, loves. ~SG**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Can I ask you something?" Sam was sitting out on the back porch with Dean and Kit and a couple of beers. Meredith and Claire had gone for a walk in the woods, and Sam had suddenly decided he was curious about something.

"I might not answer, but shoot." Dean replied, taking a swig of beer.

"So, if Gabriel's right about you and Meredith being soul mates that means no matter what you do you can't screw it up, right?" Sam asked. "You're together. Forever."

Dean shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, I hope so. I can't say I totally understand how the whole thing's supposed to work, but yeah. Soul mates together forever sounds about right to me. Unless Famine's in town. Then we'll just eat each other."

"So, why aren't you married?"

Dean choked on his beer. He had been expecting this to end up being about Sam and Brooke, not his marital status. "What?"

"I mean, you're in love, and according to Cupid you're gonna stay that way." Sam said.

"Forget Cupid." Dean said. "We're gonna stay that way according to _us_."

"Yeah. Exactly." Sam said. "I know in the past long term commitment wasn't really something you were capable of doing just because it wasn't really possible with the way we lived, but that was then. Now you've got a kid, and you're happier than I've ever seen you. And so is Meredith. So, I can't figure out why she's not Mrs. Dean Winchester yet."

Dean set his beer down and leaned down to scoop Kit up off the little pallet at their feet. "It's not like I never asked. I asked her to marry me before she got pregnant, before we even had sex. I popped the question the day the doctor cleared me. Didn't have a ring, but I got down on one knee and everything. And she said no."

Sam wasn't really surprised that Dean had popped the question, but he was completely shocked that Meredith had said no. "Why? Was it too soon or something?" If he remembered correctly Dean and Meredith had only been together for about three months by the time his injuries had all healed, and three months wasn't a very long time.

"No." Dean said, Kit cradled in his arms. "She just doesn't want to marry me."

Sam didn't ask why. Clearly Dean had resigned himself to the fact, but Sam knew his brother better than anyone, except maybe Meredith, and he could only imagine how hurt Dean had been when the woman he had decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with had turned him down. Knowing Meredith she had good reasons, and Dean obviously understood and respected them, but Sam wasn't stupid enough to think that it didn't still sting a little to think about it. So he didn't pry any further. It was none of his business, and now that he knew that much he wished he hadn't asked. He started to apologize, but knew Dean would just brush it off so he kept his mouth shut and reached over to tickle his niece. Both brothers grinned when she giggled.

"I never thought I'd say this, but have you ever heard anything that sounds better than a baby laughing?" Dean asked.

"Nope." Sam said honestly. After everything they had been through in their lives, Kit's happy giggle really was the best thing Sam had ever heard.

They fell back into a companionable silence, and Dean found himself thinking back to the day he had proposed.

%%%

 _"Mere?" he said, coming to a stop in the kitchen and dropping down on one knee. It was a spontaneous, split-second decision, but he was pretty sure it was the right one._

 _He was absolutely sure **she** was the right one. The last few months had been rough, but she had been right there by his side through everything. The night terrors, the self doubt, the self depreciation, the panic attacks, the drinking, the crying, the guilt, and the physical and emotional healing. And she hadn't complained once. She had simply been there, taking care of him, loving him, and Dean had suddenly realized that it would always be that way. She would always be there taking care of him, loving him, and knowing exactly what he needed if he let her. And that's exactly what he wanted._

 _No, he had realized upon entering the house that she hadn't hesitated to welcome him into. That was what he **needed**. What he wanted was to do the same for her. He wanted to give her exactly what she had given him. He wanted to always be there for her, loving her, and taking care of her, and knowing exactly what she needed._

 _He still had a difficult time actually saying the words, but he did love her. More than anything. She had saved him, literally and figuratively, and she was probably the only person in the world that he would put before Sam. Not that she was too far ahead of his brother, but Dean was pretty sure that if something happened he could live without Sam now. But only because he had Meredith to help him through life without his brother. He didn't think he could live without her though, and he didn't want to try. And there was only one thing he could think to do to make sure he wouldn't have to._

 _Meredith stopped in her tracks, standing for a moment with her back to him because she had a feeling she knew what she would see when she turned around. Something about the timing and the way his voice sounded. She knew what was coming, and she knew it wasn't going to turn out the way he wanted._

 _Hoping she was wrong, she turned around and found exactly what she had feared she would find. Dean, down on one knee, in what she could only assume was a spontaneous gesture that was the result of a spontaneous decision that she wished he hadn't made._

 _"Dean." she said, shaking her head and fighting back tears as she tried to find the words to ask him not to do this._

 _"Will you marry me?" he asked before she could stop him._

 _"No." was her immediate answer, and the look on his face told her that he thought he had misunderstood._

 _"What?" he asked, thrown off guard by her answer. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure what he had expected her to say, but he certainly hadn't been expecting such a definite no. For a moment he thought maybe he had been just a little too spontaneous and her brain wasn't quite comprehending the situation, but then he realized that wasn't the case at all. She knew exactly what was going on, had understood his proposal perfectly, and had consciously, and a little too calmly, given him a negative answer._

 _"Dean—"_

 _"Please tell me this is because I don't have a ring, or the timing's wrong or something." he said, practically begging, as he stood up and tried to wrap his brain around her answer. "Please tell me I didn't misread this entire last three months."_

 _"No. Of course you didn't." she said, not daring to move any closer to him. "I love you, and I want to be with you always. Dean, I...I never thought I'd see you again, and...and I actually, literally dreamed of this moment, but I...I...I can't marry you."_

 _Dean could almost feel his heart shattering into a million tiny pieces, but some part of him was still able to understand that there had to be a reason for this. She hadn't said that she didn't **want** to marry him. She had said that she **couldn't** marry him. And she was crying. Surely she wouldn't be crying if this wasn't tearing her up just as badly as it was him._

 _"Is it the hunting?" he asked._

 _"No." she said just as definitely as when she had turned down his marriage proposal a little while ago. "No. Dean, this has nothing to do with you, or with you hunting. It's...I just can't do the marriage thing again. I'm sorry."_

 _Suddenly it made perfect sense. She wasn't saying no to **him**. She was saying no to **marriage** , and now that he understood that he had no trouble understanding why. Her first marriage hadn't been a bad marriage from what he understood, but it hadn't been right, and she still felt guilty about what had happened._

 _There wasn't anything he could say to make it better, so he didn't say anything. He simply stepped forward and took her in his arms._

 _She wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face against his chest. "Please don't leave me."_

 _He understood that a lot of guys would have walked away after being turned down, even after hearing her explanation, but he wasn't one of them. Nothing could make him leave her unless it was what she wanted, and even then he wouldn't go willingly. He held her a little tighter, wishing he could make all of her pain go away, and bent his head to place a kiss on top of hers. "I'm not going anywhere."_

%%%

"So," Meredith said as they came to a stop outside the old dilapidated barn that had been part of the old farm her parents had bought when they had moved their family away from Lawrence. The property was still hers, but she had never done anything with the barn. She didn't have the skills or knowledge to repair it, the money to have someone else do it, or the heart to have it torn down. So, it simply sat here, falling apart in a large field bordered by rotting fences that had once been home to a bunch of horses, and was separated from the main property by a wide swath of woods. "Are you ever going to tell me what really happened?"

She had made an agreement with Sam and Dean that they wouldn't try to push Claire to talk about what had happened to her, but Claire had been the one to suggest they take a walk, and Meredith was pretty sure it was because she wanted to talk.

"I told you what really happened." Claire said. "That jerk attacked me, and then flipped the story around and got me kicked out of school when he realized I could defend myself."

"So, why are we out here?"

"Because it's a nice day, and you've been cooped up inside with the baby for over a week now." Claire said. "I thought it'd be nice to get out for a little while."

"I don't buy that, but I'm not going to push you."

They stood there in silence for a while, looking around at the scenery and simply enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

Finally, Claire spoke up, digging the toe of her combat boot into the grass. "It wasn't the first time."

"I was afraid of that." Meredith said, looking over at her young friend and sticking her hands in the back pockets of her shorts. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"You can't fix it." Claire said. "It can't be changed."

"But talking about it might help you move on from it."

"I don't think I'm ready to talk about it." Claire admitted. She wanted to, but she just couldn't. "Not all of it."

"So, tell me the part you are ready to talk about."

Claire sighed, hesitant to speak, but knowing Meredith was right. "I know everyone thinks I should fight it, and Dean was right when he said that that guy's probably not going to stop just because I stood up to him, but I tried to explain what really happened and they wouldn't listen to me. They took his side because I was the one with the weapons and he's the one with the money, and the school doesn't want to tarnish it's image or whatever."

"You said this wasn't the first time something like this has happened." Meredith prompted, hoping to get Claire to open up just a little more.

Claire nodded. "A few years ago. Mom was gone and I was out on my own, and...something happened. I went to the police, and they investigated, but it was half-ass and they never found the guy. I don't think they really even tried."

"You know none of us are going to force you to do anything you're not comfortable with doing, right?" Meredith asked. "To be perfectly honest, I agree with Dean. I think you should fight it, and I'll help you in any way I can, but it's all up to you. I'm just here for moral support and advice if you want it. I can't make any choices for you."

"I know." Claire said and walked over to hug her friend. "Thanks, Mere."

The pair stood there hugging each other for a long moment and then began the mile long hike back to the house, Claire's arm around Meredith's waist and Meredith's arm around Claire's shoulders.

When they arrived back at the house Meredith untangled herself from Claire and made a beeline for her baby, scooping the ten day old infant from Dean's arms and giving both of them a kiss.

Claire sat down on the porch at Sam's feet and leaned back on her elbows, and both of them watched as Meredith paced around the porch fussing over her child, neither of them able to keep from smiling. After watching Meredith or a little while Sam turned his attention to his brother, who looked like he was the happiest man ever to walk the planet as he watched his girlfriend with their daughter. Apparently Meredith not wanting to get married hadn't had too much of a devastating effect on him.

And as Sam watched Dean watch his family he found himself once again wondering what it felt like to have that kind of happiness, and whether or not he could actually find it with Brooke and Trevor. It was becoming increasingly obvious to him that he was going to have to call her. His curiosity was getting the best of him.

%%%

Sam liked the way the Mitchell family did their dinners. Since the two halves of the family lived just across the street from each other they all ate together, alternating houses. One night Dean and Meredith would cook and Kim, Jake, and the kids would come to their house, and the next night, Kim, Jake, and the kids would cook, and Dean and Meredith would go over there. Occasionally Sheriff Archer, his wife Shelly, and their three kids would get into the mix as well, and tonight was one of those nights.

The Archers had been to the hospital to see Kit when she was born, but this was the first time they had been over to the house since Dean and Meredith had brought her home, and the three families had decided to make it a sort of celebration. Summer vacation was drawing near and Sam and Claire were in town, making it even more special, and they fired up the grill and made it a party. Even Cas decided to put in an appearance.

Sam spent most of the evening with Dean, Jake, Travis, and Cas, while Meredith, Kim, and Shelly fussed over the baby, and Claire played with the kids, most of whom weren't that much younger than she was. They all laughed, and talked, and played, and it was one of the best nights Sam could remember having in a long time. Several times throughout the night he tried to imagine what it would be like if Brooke and Trevor were here, how they would fit in with this family. At one point he realized that he didn't even know what Trevor looked like, and decided it was time to call Brooke. It wasn't too late, so he slipped away from the party in the backyard and went upstairs to the guest room he had been occupying. Dean had given him Brooke's phone number, and his heart was pounding as he dialed.

"Hello?"

"Brooke?" Sam said, his voice catching from nerves. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Hey. It's Sam."

"Sam." she repeated, sounding a little caught off guard. There was a long beat of silence, and then, "Hey. I've been meaning to call you. There's something we need to talk about."

"Yeah. I already know about Trevor." Sam said, hoping to take some of the pressure off her.

"Gabriel told you." she guessed.

"I guess I kind of figured it out on my own, but yeah. He confirmed it." Sam said. "You know what he is, right?"

"Yeah." Brooke said. "Dean told me. Gabriel moved in next door to my mother, and she tired to fix us up the other day. I got a weird feeling because of Trevor's reaction, so I called Dean and he told me that Gabriel's an archangel. Which is still really weird to me, by the way, but so far he's been pretty great."

Sam sat down on the bed. "What all has he told you...about what's going on?"

"Not much." Brooke admitted. "I know he's been watching over me and Trevor for the last six years because of you."

"I didn't ask him to do that." Sam said. "Just so you know."

"I know." Brooke said. "He said he made the choice himself."

"Did he tell you anything else?"

"Just that I needed to talk to you. To be honest, I haven't really wanted to hear anything else." Brooke explained. "I just found out that you and Dean are alive, and that I've had an invisible angel living in my apartment for six years. I know there's more going on here than Gabriel deciding to watch over us because he's your friend, but I'm not sure I can handle all of it at one time, you know? I can't even begin to imagine what's really going on."

"I know what's going on, and I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it." Sam admitted. "It's definitely something we need to talk about, and I'm thinking there's some other stuff we should talk about too."

"Definitely." she agreed. "But not over the phone. Would it be possible for you to come back to Reveille so we can talk? I assume you're probably working a job or something."

"Actually, I'm hanging out with Dean's family for a while." Sam said. "They just had a baby."

"Yeah, I figured." Brooke said. "I heard him or her crying in the background when I talked to Dean the other day."

"Her." Sam said. "Kit."

"Aw!" Brooke gushed. "That's a cute name!"

"Yeah, she's great." Sam said, smiling involuntarily as he thought of his sweet little niece that wasn't even two weeks old yet. "But, uh, yeah. I can definitely come back up there. How about next week? I need to swing by my place and check on things."

"Next week is great." she agreed. "It's actually a light week for me, so we should be able to find some time to sit down and really talk over everything."

"Great." Sam said. "I'll see you next week then."

He said good-bye to Brooke and went back downstairs, running into Dean and Meredith on their way to the nursery to put Kit down for the night. "Hey, I'm gonna head out in the morning."

"So soon?" Meredith asked, looking disappointed. "I was hoping you'd stay a little longer."

"I would, but I just got off the phone with Brooke." he explained, knowing that Dean had filled her in on what they had learned in Reveille. "I'm headed back up there so we can figure things out."

"Good for you, Sammy." Dean said, clapping his brother on the shoulder as he headed for the bedroom door.

Meredith, holding Kit, gave Sam a reassuring smile. "I'm sure everything will work out just fine, Sam."

"I hope you're right." he said, leaning down to give Kit a kiss.

"Come on, Kitten." Meredith said. "Let's get you fed and ready for bed." she lifted one of Kit's tiny hands and made her wave at Sam. "Say night night Uncle Sammy."

Sam couldn't help by smile. The baby had absolutely no interest in him, and decided it was a good time to let her mother know that she was hungry. Or maybe she was tired or needed to be changed. Dean and Meredith seemed to be learning the subtle differences between her cries, but they all sounded the same to Sam. Maybe you had to be a parent to hear it.

"I know, I know." Meredith said as she headed toward the nursery where Dean was waiting for them. "Mommy's gonna feed you in just a minute."

Sam didn't want to leave his family in the morning, but he didn't really have a choice now that he had promised Brooke, and he knew that this wasn't something he needed to put off any longer. If he did Gabriel would just get pushy, and at this point he really was curious to see how this was going to turn out. And the only way he was going to get an answer to that question was if he went back to Reveille and talked to Brooke face to face.

 **Another sort of low-key chapter, but still very informative, and at least Sam's moving in the right direction. And how about that proposal? Turns out Meredith is the one afraid of commitment. At least in the legal form anyway. I think it's pretty obvious that she's completely committed to Dean no matter what happens. Can you blame her? I mean, come on! He's Dean freaking Winchester! The eyes alone are enough to make me insanely jealous of fictional women. At least I get to live vicariously through Meredith. ~SG**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sam was nervous as he pressed the button outside the front door of Brooke and Trevor's apartment, and rang the bell. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to come out of this meeting, or what he wanted to come out of it. He wasn't sure what Brooke expected or wanted. He had no idea what she had told Trevor about him, or if she had even told Trevor about him at all. All he knew is what Gabriel had told him, and what Gabriel was expecting to happen. He also knew that it was way too late to turn back now. Brooke had just opened the door and was standing there, smiling nervously at him.

"Hi." she said.

"Hey." he replied.

"Come in." she invited, stepping aside and shutting the door behind him. "Trevor's with Gabriel, so we don't have to worry about him overhearing anything."

"Gabriel's babysitting?" Sam asked, amused at the idea, and honestly not sure that was the best idea.

Brooke nodded. "Yeah. Ma's got something going on with a bunch of her friends, and Nate's on duty today."

"But _Gabriel_?"

Brooke smiled, understanding that the Winchesters had a rocky history with the angel. "He's great with Trevor. He's actually been a huge help the last couple of weeks. I work so much so Trevor's always with my mom, and now she can take some time off for herself. Honestly, I'm hoping she'll find something to do to entertain herself other than pick my life apart."

"So, I'm guessing you don't have the best relationship with your mom?"

"It could be better." Brooke admitted, gesturing to the couch. "You're welcome to sit down if you want. Can I get you anything?"

"No." Sam said, taking a seat. "Thanks. I'm fine."

Brooke was too nervous to eat or drink anything, so she simply sat down in the armchair near the couch and began talking because she didn't know what else to do. "Ma's been great helping out with Trevor and all for the last nine years, but we just don't really see eye to eye on a lot of things."

"I know what that's like." Sam said. "That's how it always was between me and my dad, but I thought you and your mom got along just fine."

"We used to." Brooke confirmed. "Before I found out about the affair."

"Oh."

Brooke could see that he was feeling a little guilty. He and Dean had been the ones to drag the truth out of Nora after Brooke's uncle had died. "It's not your fault, Sam. Things started getting rocky between us when she married my uncle after my dad died. I didn't like that she remarried so soon after my dad's death, and I really didn't like that she married my uncle. Mostly because it just seemed really weird to me, marrying your brother-in-law."

"Actually, it's probably not as weird as you think." Sam said. "Dean's girlfriend's ex-husband married her sister."

"Huh." Brooke said. "How are they, by the way? Dean and his girlfriend. Newborns are a handful."

"They're doing great." Sam said. "They seem to be adjusting just fine to being new parents. It's kind of weird seeing Dean with a baby, but Kit's great, and they're happy, and to be honest I kind of hated leaving them."

"You didn't have to."

"Yeah, I did. They'll be there when I get back, and this is important."

Brooke nodded in agreement. They had finally made their way around to what Sam was really here to discuss. "So...you already know Trevor's your son."

"Yeah." Sam said, still finding the idea somewhat unbelievable. "Gabriel's a little impatient if you hadn't noticed."

"Every time I talk to him he asks if I've talked to you yet." Brooke said, her way of explaining that she understood exactly what Sam was talking about. "Are all angels that pushy?"

"Let's just say they're very fond of their rule book, and they're not all that crazy about surprises."

Brooke chuckled a little and then sobered. "I tried to find you after I found out."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Gabriel said you tried a few times."

"You're not an easy man to find, Sam Winchester."

"If I had known..."

"It's okay, Sam." Brooke said, shaking her head at his unnecessary guilt. "I don't blame you for anything, and I'm not mad that I couldn't find you. Honestly, I'm just glad that you and Dean are okay, and as cliché as it sounds Trevor is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I really should be thanking you."

Sam smiled a little at that.

Brooke continued. "I want you to know that I'm not expecting anything from you. All Trevor knows about you is that your name is Sam. I'm willing to let you meet him and be involved in his life if you want, but I won't force it. That's up to the two of you."

Sam nodded, still not sure what he wanted but glad to know that if he decided he did want to know Trevor Brooke wouldn't stop him. "What about us? You and me. I mean, if I have a relationship with Trevor I have to have some kind of relationship with you, right?"

"Only in the most basic sense, but I'd really like it if we could at least be friends." Brooke said. "I know with your job the whole family thing might be a little difficult, but I'm not expecting you to marry me or anything."

"Yeah, about that."

Brooke looked suddenly terrified. "What about that?"

"I'm not about to propose or anything." Sam said in response to the look on her face. "I'd love it if we could be friends, but you may not like the idea so much once you know why Gabriel's so pushy about us talking."

"Sam, what's going on here?" she asked. "I know I haven't wanted to know everything because all of this is a little overwhelming, but I do want to know what I'm walking into if I let you into our lives."

Sam wasn't sure how to explain it in a way that wouldn't freak her out, mostly because the idea still freaked him out, so he just said it. "If what Gabriel told me a couple weeks ago is true, and I don't know why he'd lie about it, apparently we're fated to be together."

"Excuse me?"

"We're soul mates." Sam clarified, aware of the fact that it didn't sound any better than the first way he had said it.

Brooke's eyebrows went up in skepticism, and she looked confused, surprised, and amused. "Soul mates?"

"I know it sounds crazy, and I don't really understand it myself to be honest, but for some reason someone up in Heaven has decided that we're a perfect match." Sam explained. "We were shot by a cupid."

"A cupid?"

"Yeah." Sam couldn't make is sound any less ridiculous, so he simply explained what he knew of cupids. "I don't think you want the entire story right now, but Dean and I started and stopped the Apocalypse, and in starting it we unleashed the Four Horsemen, one of them being Famine. We caught a case in a town where a couple had literally eaten each other to death. Another couple committed a murder-suicide because they couldn't be together every second of every day. The extreme reactions were because Famine was in town affecting their hunger for love, and it affected other people in different ways, but we found out that those two couples had been shot with a cupid's arrow. When we were examining the bodies of the second couple we found little symbols carved into their hearts, and our friend Cas...he's an angel too. He explained that it was from a cupid, and we ended up catching the cupid and figured out what was going on, but basically there are certain matches that are meant to be made for whatever reason, and that's when the cupids get involved."

"Well, that brings a whole new meaning to Valentine's Day." Brooke commented, trying to process what Sam had just told her.

"No kidding."

"So...you're saying we were both shot by a cupid after that night because God thought we'd make a cute couple?"

"I don't know who makes the actual decisions, and we were probably hit the second we met, but yeah." Sam said. "Basically."

"And that's why Gabriel's been watching over us?"

"Yeah, but it's not like he's following orders or anything. That's not really his style." Sam said. "I don't think he wastes too much time on things he doesn't really care about, so I think it's safe to say that he doesn't have any ulterior motives or anything. He just wants to make sure you and Trevor are safe."

"Okay, but if what you're saying is true..." Brooke said, still trying to wrap her head around everything. "Then we don't have a choice but to end up together. I don't think I like that. I mean, no offense, Sam, but I was always under the impression that I was making the decisions in my love life."

"Look." Sam said, understanding where she was coming from. "I'm not saying we can't fight it or whatever, or that we have to get married right now, or ever. Or even like each other. I'm just telling you what I know, so you can be prepared for whatever comes next. Trust me, I don't like the idea of having a cupid playing matchmaker for me either, but if it helps any the same thing happened with Dean and Meredith, and it worked out great for them."

"I guess there are worse guys I could've been divinely partnered with."

Sam chuckled lightly. "Thanks."

"So...what do we do about this?" she asked, calming down because she couldn't see any real reason to get too worked up over something she apparently had no control over. And Sam really wasn't a bad prospect based on what she knew about him.

Sam shook his head, at a loss just as she was. "I have no idea. I mean, we can either fight it or go with it and see what happens."

"Okay. Well...do you want to meet your son?"

"Yeah." Sam said, surprising himself with his answer. Not that he was opposed to meeting Trevor. He just hadn't realized he had made up his mind about it until the word came out of his mouth. "As long as it's okay with you. And Trevor, of course."

Brooke smiled. "I'm fine with it, and he's been asking questions about you lately, so I don't think he'll mind too much." she glanced at the clock on the wall. "Gabriel should be bringing him home in a couple hours. You can stay for dinner if you want, or we can do it another day if it's too soon. You said you'd be in town a few days, right?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I've got a room for a week."

"Okay." Brooke said, nodding. "So, do you want to go ahead and meet him tonight, or do you want to wait? I'm okay with either. Like I said earlier, it's completely up to you."

"You are surprisingly calm about all of this."

Brooke smiled. "With everything I've learned recently I think Trevor meeting his father for the first time is pretty mundane."

"If you really don't mind I think I'll stay for dinner." Sam said. "I might run if we wait."

"I can't even imagine how crazy this must be for you."

"That's an understatement."

"And just so you know, I was planning on telling you." Brooke said. "Gabriel just beat me to it."

"It's okay." Sam assured her. "I'm sure this isn't any easier for you than it is for me."

"Definitely not easy." she agreed.

With all the crazy revelations out of the way Sam and Brooke settled in and caught each other up on what had been going on in their lives for the last ten years while they waited for Gabriel to bring Trevor home to a surprise the boy couldn't possibly be expecting. Sam just hoped it wasn't a bad surprise.

%%%

"Are you sure you still want me in your son's life?" Sam asked. He hadn't told Brooke everything that had happened in the last ten years, but the highlights were enough to freak anyone out.

"See, this is the reason I'm not a random hook-up, one-night-stand kind of girl." Brooke said, knowing there was so much more Sam hadn't told her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know anymore. "But I could've done worse. At least you're not..."

"A serial killer?" Sam finished when she trailed off, smiling at her ironic choice of words. "Technically, I am."

"Yeah, but at least you only kill the bad guys."

"Except when I don't have a soul."

She had joined him on the couch at some point in their conversation, and reached over to put a reassuring hand on his. "That wasn't your fault, Sam." She watched his face go from guilt to amusement. "What?"

"Nothing." he said, her hand still on his. "It's just...I think I just figured out why God, or Cupid, or whoever decided you and Meredith were the right girls for me and Dean."

That's not what she had expected, but she was curious anyway. "Why?"

"What you said just then." Sam explained. "That the things I did when I didn't have a soul weren't my fault."

"Okay." she said, a little confused as to why that was the reason he had come up with. "It's just the truth. You didn't choose to come back without a soul."

"No, I know, but I still blame myself for it. Whatever the reason innocent people still got hurt, still _died_ because of something I did."

"You feel guilty because the actions were yours even though they were the result of something that wasn't your choice." she said, beginning to understand what he was getting at.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, and Dean's the same way. Only he's worse than I am. But you and Meredith, you see it differently than we do. Dean and I, we look at the individual incidents, and then we blame ourselves because all we see is that we were directly responsible for whatever bad thing happened."

"But Meredith and I see the whole picture." Brooke said. "We factor in everything that led up to that bad thing."

"Like with our parents." Sam said, picking the first example that came to mind. "I always sort of blamed myself for our mom's death because she was trying to save me when she died. But she's the one that made the deal with the demon in the first place, and chose to fight back instead of just letting it happen. And Dean blamed himself for Dad's death because Dad made a deal with the same demon to trade his life for Dean's, but it was Dad's choice to do that."

Brooke hadn't needed him to explain any further, but she realized that he was speaking now to explain it to himself. Sam had just figured out something very important about himself and his brother, and she didn't stop him from talking it out with himself.

It was the front door opening that stopped him. Trevor was home, and Brooke gave Sam's hand a gentle squeeze before she got up and walked over to hug her son and thank Gabriel.

Gabriel spotted Sam, who had risen from his seat on the couch and was now standing in the middle of the room, waiting to be introduced to his son. "So, I guess I won't be staying for dinner tonight. Looks a little crowded in there."

Brooke looked back at Sam, noting the fact that Trevor was still hugging her waist. His shyness around strangers had returned and he was determined to stick close by his mother. "Yeah. Thanks for watching him."

"Anytime." Gabriel said, reaching out to ruffle the boys hair. "See ya, buddy."

"Bye, Gabe." Trevor mumbled.

Gabriel shut the door as he left and Brooke ushered her son into the living room. "Trevor, I want you to meet someone."

"Were you on a date?" Trevor asked, looking at Sam and then back to his mother.

"No, baby." Brooke said. "This was just two old friends catching up."

"Is he staying for dinner?"

Brooke nodded.

"Who is he?"

She smiled, her hand resting reassuringly on her son's back. "Trevor, this is Sam."

Trevor looked just like his mother, and Sam watched as his eyes went wide. The boy stared at him for a moment, and then looked up at his mother. "You said my dad's name was Sam."

Brooke nodded.

Trevor looked back up at Sam. "You're my dad?"

Sam was suddenly flooded with an emotion he couldn't put a name to. He wasn't sure how to react to meeting his son, and he wasn't sure if Trevor was reacting well or not, but he nodded. "Yeah."

Time seemed to stand still for a long moment as Trevor simply stared at Sam, processing what he had just been told. The tall man with the long hair standing just a few yards away was his father, a man he had become increasingly curious about recently because some of the kids at school had been teasing him about not having a dad. But now that would all stop because he had a dad, and his dad looked like he could easily beat up all the other kids' dads.

Suddenly, before either adult knew what was happening, Trevor took a running start and launched himself at Sam.

"Whoa!" Sam said as he managed to catch the unexpectedly airborne child and was further surprised when that child's arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

At first he was just surprised at Trevor's reaction. He had prepared himself for a shy, polite, and probably awkward first meeting. Not a flying leap that ended in one of the biggest hugs Sam had ever received, and after a moment he felt himself begin to get choked up. This was his son.

Brooke smiled, touched by the emotion on Sam's face as he returned the hug and by Trevor's obviously positive reaction to meeting his father, and blinked hard against the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "Well...I think it's safe to say he's happy to meet you."

"Why haven't I met you until now?" Trevor asked once he was back on his feet.

"Um...well..." Sam had no idea how to answer that question, and looked to Brooke for help.

Trevor knew absolutely nothing about the supernatural world unless Gabriel had gone against her direct orders not to say anything, and Brooke wasn't exactly sure how to answer the question either. She couldn't exactly tell her child she had thought Sam was dead, or why she had thought he was dead, that he had been forced to fake his death. More than once she now knew, having learned about some of the stuff that had happened with the Leviathan.

It didn't take her too long to come up with an answer though. "Sam didn't know about you until recently." It was the truth.

"You didn't tell him?"

"I tried to." Brooke said in self-defense as her son gave her an accusatory look.

"But I travel a lot with my job, and sometimes I'm hard to get a hold of." Sam said, deciding to help out when he realized Brooke was thrown off by the blame her son had suddenly placed on her. "She couldn't find me to tell me."

"Oh." Trevor said. "What's your job?"

"Pest control." Sam said automatically, spouting off a lie he and Dean had used before that wasn't too far from the truth.

"He hunts monsters." Brooke said bluntly, deciding that it was best to tell Trevor the truth. She hated lying to her son, and she knew Trevor was old enough to handle the truth.

Sam, a little freaked out by her honesty, looked up at her, clearly questioning her choice.

"It's okay, Sam." she said.

"He's not even ten years old yet, Brooke." Sam argued. "He doesn't need to know this stuff yet."

"So, you want me to lie to my son?" she asked. "Lie to _our_ son?"

"No, but sometimes...it's better not to know."

"I know I told you earlier that I'm fine with you being in his life if that's what the two of you want, but you're still new in town, Sam." Brooke said. "You're his father, but I'm the parent. I get to make the big decisions. You have to earn that right. I'm not saying teach him how to hunt, but don't tell him you're running around the country killing termites when you're really chasing down Mothra. He'll figure it out for himself eventually, and that'll just cause problems because we lied to him."

Sam opened his mouth to argue, but realized she was right. He hadn't forgotten how he had felt when Dean had revealed the truth about their family to him. Just the other day Dean had told him that he didn't want to do the same things with Kit that their father had done with them, and Sam didn't want to do the same things with Trevor either. It didn't seem fair to dump the horror show that was his life on a nine-year-old, but lying to him was worse.

"Okay." he said, giving in and letting Brooke decide what was the best way to handle the situation.

"Mothra's real?" Trevor asked.

"No." Sam said. "But other things are, and my brother and I, that's what we do. We hunt monsters."

"You have a brother?"

Sam nodded. "His name's Dean."

"So, I have two uncles now?"

Brooke laughed at her son's excitement. He had more of a reaction to finding out that he had another uncle than he did to finding out that monsters were real.

They had ordered pizza, which arrived shortly after Trevor found out about his other uncle, and Brooke was amazed at how quickly he took to Sam while they ate.

After dinner, when it was time for Sam to leave and Trevor understood that he couldn't tell anyone about what the Winchesters really did, Sam got another hug.

"Can I call you Dad, or do I have to call you Sam?" Trevor asked, looking up at his father.

"Uh..." Sam said. Another question he wasn't sure how to answer.

Thankfully Brooke came to the rescue again. "Why don't we stick with Sam for now?" she suggested. "This is new for all of us, and we don't know if it's gonna work out yet, okay?"

Trevor nodded, and smiled up at Sam. "Bye, Sam."

"Bye, Trevor."

He watched as the boy ran off to his bedroom.

"So." Brooke said, following him out into the hall and closing the door behind her. "How ya doin'?"

"It all feels sort of surreal, you know?"

Brooke smiled. "You'll get used to it. He likes you."

"I like him." Sam said. "He's a great kid. You've done a a great job with him."

"Thanks." she said. "And I'm sorry about springing that truth thing on you earlier. I know we probably should've talked about it first, but I just can't stand lying to him about something that big."

"No, I get it. And you're right. It's not my place to make that decision. I may be his father, but I didn't raise him."

"Stick around and you can help me finish raising him." she said.

Sam smiled. "Deal."

Brooke reached up and gave him a hug before he left, and Sam was starting to understand exactly what Dean must feel about his family. Suddenly he didn't mind that the choice had been taken away from him. He would be perfectly fine if Brooke and Trevor were part of his life forever.

 **Feels anyone? And let me just say that I really like this kid. I mean, I know I created him, but I don't always like the people I create. Like Dream Jake in JAD. Or Real Jake in JAD. Basically, Jake was a jerk in that story. And fun fact since we're delving into Sam's love life here: I wasn't sure this thing would go any farther than The Preacher's Daughter, but of course I was playing it all out in my head, and my original idea was to have Sam and Kim end up together. Personally, I think this worked out much better. ~SG**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Why doesn't he stay here?" Trevor asked as he watched Sam's Charger drive away from the apartment complex.

Brooke put her arm around her son's shoulders. "He had to get back to his family, baby."

"But we're his family." Trevor said, looking up at his mother. "Aren't we?"

"Not really." Brooke said. "We're his son and his son's mother. Family isn't all about blood."

"What is it about?"

"Family is the people you can always count on." Brooke explained. "The people that love you unconditionally, and will always be there for you no matter what happens. You don't have to be related by blood or marriage to be family."

"Sam can't count on us?"

"Of course he can. I just meant that he doesn't know us very well yet. And we don't know him very well either."

"How is he supposed to know us if he leaves?"

"He'll be back, baby." Brooke promised. "This is a tricky situation, and it's new for all of us. We have to take it slow. Sam will come back here, but right now there's some other things he needs to take care of with his family in Georgia."

Sam had told her a little about what was going on with Claire, and she knew that was a big part of why he had only spent a week Reveille. He was worried about his friend. Plus he had a new little niece that he undoubtedly felt more of a connection to that Trevor at this point, and Brooke understood that. He hadn't known Kit much longer than he had known Trevor, but he had known about Kit for a lot longer than he had Trevor, and had had more time to get excited about her. Trevor had sort of fallen into his lap out of the blue. Brooke understood that Sam wanted to take care of Claire, and play with Kit, and see Jody Mills and Alex Jones, more family friends that were in town because of the baby. There was nothing wrong with that, and he would be back. Brooke just wasn't sure Trevor really understood what was going on.

Trevor turned and walked back inside, and Brooke hoped he wasn't to broken up over Sam leaving.

%%%

It was late when Sam pulled into Dean and Meredith's driveway. As he got out of his car he noted that both houses were dark. Everyone was asleep.

Suddenly, as he made his way through the muggy June night toward the side entrance he heard a gunshot from inside, and realized that there was a light now on inside the kitchen.

He was running toward the house almost before he heard the shot, and he reached the scene of the crime at the same time as Meredith, who had clearly been asleep. If the situation wasn't so serious it would've been comical.

Sam had burst into the house, the mudroom door banging open, with his gun drawn, ready to shoot whoever was threatening his family. Meredith, looking slightly crazy with her recently cut hair mussed from sleep and her half asleep, half terrified expression on her makeup-free face with dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, was wearing one of Dean's black t-shirts and holding a knife. She was griping the handle so tightly that her knuckles were white, and she had it raised with the blade pointing down Norman Bates style.

"Dean!" she shrieked, dropping the knife as she saw him leaning against the counter, clutching his bleeding arm. His gun was on the floor where he had dropped it when the bullet had pierced his bicep just under his shoulder, and he was in his underwear, apparently not having bothered taking time to put on pants before investigating.

"I'm fine." he growled through the searing pain as his worried girlfriend quickly covered the few feet of space between them. "I'm fine, Mere. It's just a flesh wound."

"What happened?" Sam asked, putting his gun on the counter when he didn't find any real threat.

"I heard a noise, and came out to investigate." Dean said, gritting his teeth against the pain as Meredith pressed a dish towel to his gushing wound. He nodded at the girl across the room. "And she freaking shot me."

Claire was obviously drunk, and had burst into tears when she realized that it was Dean she had shot and not someone breaking into the house. There was an empty glass on the table that had clearly been used, and broken glass scattered on the floor, mixed with the remains of the whiskey that had been in the bottle when it had been knocked off the table. It wasn't too hard to figure out that shattering glass was what had woken Dean.

Kit was crying in the nursery, having been awakened by the noise, and for a moment no one was really sure what to do. Claire was drunk and upset, standing in the middle of a puddle of whiskey and broken glass, Dean was wounded, and Meredith was wide awake now that her adrenaline had fully kicked in once she realized Dean was hurt. Sam was just slightly confused over the whole thing and tired from his long drive.

Not long after he had burst into the house, nearly breaking down the door, they heard the front door open, and a few moments later Jake appeared, pajama clad and ready to shoot.

"It's okay, Jake." Sam said.

"What happened?" Jake asked, lowering his gun and surveying the scene in front of him.

"Claire shot Dean." Sam said.

"It was an accident." Claire said, her words slurred from the whiskey. "I didn't...didn't mean...I'm s' sorry."

"It's okay, Claire." Dean assured her. "I'm fine."

Claire shook her head, tears still streaming down her face. "No. S' not...not fine. I _shot_ you!"

"It was an accident, Claire." Dean said. "I'm still alive."

Jake set his gun on the counter and took the blood stained towel from Meredith. "Go get the baby. Sam and I can handle this mess."

"I'm fine." Dean assured her when she shot him another worried look.

She nodded and hurried off to soothe her wailing three week old daughter, leaving the men to clean up the mess.

"I'm assuming you're not gonna let me take you to the hospital to get that stitched up." Jake guessed as he handed Dean a clean towel.

"Good guess." Dean said.

"I got it." Sam said, and found the first aid kit under the kitchen sink where Dean told him to look.

Claire was still holding the pistol she had shot Dean with, and Jake moved over to her carefully, holding out his hand to the crying girl. "Put the gun down, Claire."

At his calm command she set it on the table behind her, and moved toward him when he gestured for her to move away from the broken glass. She was careful, but with her impaired judgment she still managed to slice her foot open on a shard. Yelping in pain, she jerked her injured foot off the floor and lost her balance, falling awkwardly into Jake's arms.

He caught her and then the towel Sam tossed his way. Towel in hand, he scooped Claire up and carried her to the living room where he deposited her on the couch and sat down to inspect her foot.

"Not so bad." he said, smiling at her as she whimpered. "Barely even needs stitches."

The cut wasn't deep, and there didn't seem to be any glass lodged in the wound. He pressed the towel to the wound. "Hold that on there for a minute while I go get what I need to fix you up."

Claire nodded and did as she was told.

Meredith got Kit calmed down and left her in her crib even though she was still wide awake, giving her a kiss before going back out to see what the rest of her house looked like. She paused in the bedroom long enough to pull on a pair of jeans she had been wearing that day that hadn't made it into the dirty clothes basket, and walked out into the living room.

She found Jake wrapping up Claire's foot on the couch, a bloody towel wadded up on the coffee table, and Sam stitching Dean's arm up in the kitchen.

"I guess this is what I get for falling in love with a hunter." she said, grabbing the dirty towel from the table and heading for the kitchen.

"Should've stuck with Jake." Dean joked.

"Oh yeah, because something like this definitely wouldn't have happened if I was still married to a soldier." she said, gathering the other soiled towels from the counter and ignoring the guns littering her kitchen as she made her way carefully into the laundry room. She rinsed the towels out as best she could and tossed them in the dirty clothes to be washed later before going back out to the kitchen to clean up the mess Claire had made.

"I got it, Mere." Jake said. He had already grabbed the broom and dust pan, and was sweeping up the glass and whiskey.

"How's Claire?" she asked as she stood with her hands on her hips and watched Jake clean up the mess.

"She'll be fine." he said. "She stepped on a piece of glass, but the cut wasn't bad. I got her cleaned up, stitched up, and bandaged. Now she just needs to sober up and calm down, and we can figure out why she decided to get drunk in the first place."

Meredith reached up with one hand to push her untamed hair out of her face. "I already know why."

"She told you what happened?" Dean asked, surprised at the revelation.

Meredith nodded. "She told me enough."

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"Because she was barely ready to tell me." Meredith said. "And I still don't have the whole story, but she told me enough that I can guess what happened. She wasn't ready for everyone to know yet, or she would've told all of us."

Dean knew she was right, and felt bad about snapping at her, but didn't apologize. It wasn't necessary. Meredith knew he was just worried about Claire.

Sam had finished stitching Dean up, and Meredith nudged him out of the way to do the bandaging, needing to touch him to assure herself he was okay. She was about to suggest he make coffee, but the doorbell rang.

"Kim called Travis." Jake explained. They hadn't known what was going on across the street, and had thought it best to call the sheriff just in case.

Travis knew that both houses were full of people that were capable of handling an intruder, and didn't hurry, thinking there was a pretty good chance that it was something better left to Dean.

"Why is he ringing the doorbell?" Sam asked, thinking that was an odd thing to do when there could be someone in the house that didn't need to be alerted to the arrival of the sheriff.

"Because he knows we've already got the situation under control." Meredith said, securing the bandage around Dean's arm. "Why don't you go let him in?"

Sam left the room, Jake dumped the dust pan full of wet glass in the trash and grabbed another towel to mop up the rest of the whiskey, and Meredith gave Dean a kiss before he went to go put some clothes on.

"Do me a favor?" she said before letting him go.

"What?" Dean asked, thinking that he would do anything she asked him to do, but hesitant to make that promise before he knew what was about to be asked of him.

"I'm sure Sam stitched you up just fine, but will you please go to the doctor tomorrow and get it checked out for me?" she requested. "Just to make me feel better."

"Nope." he said.

Meredith clearly hadn't been expecting that answer.

Dean smiled at her surprised expression, and nodded toward the living room where Claire was lying on the couch. "I'm gonna call Cas as soon as I get dressed. He can fix me up good as new."

"That works too." she said, and gave him another quick kiss before giving him a gentle push toward their bedroom. "Now go put some clothes on. We have company. And don't wake the baby!"

"I like seeing you happy like this." Jake said, coming to stand beside her as she climbed onto a bar stool at the counter and buried her face in her hands for a moment. "You deserve to be happy like this. I'm just sorry I couldn't make you happy."

Meredith removed her hands from her face and smiled at him, touching his arm lovingly. "I was happy with you, Jake. For a while. We just weren't right. And part of the reason I'm so happy now is because my sister is happy, and that, dear brother-in-law, is all on you. So, thank you for that."

Jake smiled and hugged her, kissing her cheek as Dean came back out of the bedroom, and Sam led Travis into the living room.

"Hey!" Dean said, pointing at Jake and Meredith with his good arm. "Watch it, pal, or you'll be the next person shot in this house tonight."

They all knew he was only joking and most of them chuckled.

"I better go let Kim know everything's okay." Jake said.

"Thanks for coming to check on us." Meredith said, following him out of the kitchen.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you kissing your ex in our kitchen." Dean teased once Jake was gone.

Meredith rolled her eyes and put her arms around his waist when he pulled her to his side. "Oh please. Like you have anything to worry about. I couldn't leave you if I wanted to thanks to Cupid. And he kissed me, love."

"Cupid?" Travis questioned.

"Long story." Dean said, and kissed Meredith's forehead.

"So, everything's okay here?" Travis asked.

"Yep." Meredith confirmed. "We learned a lesson about mixing alcohol and bullets, but we're all okay."

"For the most part." Dean added, and shrugged "We'll live."

"In that case, I'm gonna head back home and let Shelly know everyone's okay." Travis said, and gestured to Dean's wounded arm. "Get that checked out by a doctor."

"Got an angle on the way." Dean said.

Travis nodded, still getting used to all the supernatural stuff, and showed himself out.

"Why don't we all get some sleep, and we can sort the rest of this out in the morning?" Meredith suggested.

Sam went to get his things from the car, and Meredith spread the throw from the back of the couch over Claire, who was already asleep.

"She's gonna have one hell of a hangover in the morning." Sam said.

In the process of cleaning up they had discovered that Claire had started off with beer before switching to whiskey. There were four empty cans in the trash. And on top of the alcohol there was the emotional mess that had driven her to drink, and the fact that she had shot Dean. Morning was going to be rough for her.

"Hopefully we can get all this figured out, and she won't feel the need to go an any more late night benders." Meredith replied.

She hugged Sam good-night and went back to her own room where she found no sign of Dean. She didn't have to guess where he was, and found him standing over Kit's crib simply staring down at the sleeping baby. She smiled and walked over to him, rubbing his back and placing a kiss on his shoulder.

"I just can't get over the fact that she's mine." he said.

She smiled at the familiar note of awe in his voice as she rested her head on his shoulder. "She is pretty amazing isn't she? I have to pinch myself sometimes too. There's so much crap in my past with everything Hanna put us through, and Mama, and then loosing you, and then the miscarriage, and Corey, and the divorce."

Dean put his good arm around her and pulled her close, savoring the feel of her hand gently rubbing his back.

"Now I've got this perfect little baby." she looked up at him. "And you are literally a dream come true."

"I love you, Meredith." he said, his voice rough with emotion.

She smiled as he kissed her and held his lips captive for a moment, drawing the kiss out because she loved his kisses so much. She also loved the simple fact that she was able to kiss him, and could do so pretty much whenever she pleased. "Thank you for loving me."

Dean smiled down at her. "It's my pleasure."

%%%

Upstairs Sam stood gazing out the guest room window thinking about everything that was going on right now. Claire was clearly a mess, and he wasn't entirely sure where he stood with Brooke and Trevor, though it looked like they were headed in a good direction. But at least Dean finally had his family, and the world wasn't in danger of being torn apart by some crazy monster.

Dean had been shot, and Claire had sliced her foot open, but at least they were still alive, and Cas could easily fix their injuries once he arrived tomorrow. Brooke and Trevor were safe with Gabriel, Jody and Alex would be arriving tomorrow, and Jake and Kim had a baby on the way. There wouldn't be an easy solution to whatever Claire was dealing with, but everything else seemed to be in a good place at the moment, and he was pretty sure they could work through at least some of what was going on with Claire.

For the first time in probably his entire life Sam realized how good it felt not to have the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.

 **So, that happened. Betcha can't wait to find out what's going on with Claire. Hopefully I can get a proper night's sleep tonight, so I can avoid sleeping all day tomorrow and get Chapter 11 up sooner in the day. ~SG**


	11. Chapter 11

**A little housekeeping before we get into the chapter. 1) This chapter ended up being a couple of pages longer than usual, but I don't think you guys will mind. Too bad if you do. 2) I think we may be reaching the end of this story. I have a few more things planned for the series (so far), but I think this chapter brings us to a nice stopping place for Dean and Meredith and Claire's story lines. I need a little more for Sam and his little family, so I can't mark this story as complete just yet. They're still kind of flapping in the wind here, so I think we need another chapter or two to get them to a good place to stop. If you have any suggestions please feel free to share, because I really have no idea what to do with that. I know where I'd like them to end up, but I think it's a little too soon for happily ever after. 3) Since I don't have anything beyond this chapter it may be a little while before the next one is ready, so don't go thinking I've dropped dead or something if I don't post for a few days. 4) Enjoy! ~SG**

Chapter 11

Claire felt awful when she woke up to Meredith shaking her gently. She groaned as she opened her eyes a little to peek at her friend. "Where am I?" She knew she wasn't in her bed, but that was all her brain was willing to register at the moment.

"You're in the living room." Meredith said, crouched in front of her, her tone indicating that she was in a no nonsense mood.

"What happened?"

"You decided to have a one-woman party last night." Meredith explained. "We let you sleep in, but you need to get up now. Jody and Alex are here, and we're about to have a little family meeting and talk about what's going on with you."

Claire shook her head and immediately regretted the action. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Too bad." Meredith said, her patience having worn thin very quickly after last night's incident. "You lost the right to not talk when you shot Dean last night."

"I did _what_?" Claire exclaimed, jerking into a half sitting position, wincing at the pain, and falling back down. She groaned as she covered her face with her hands. "Oh my god. Mere. I'm so sorry. Is...is he okay?"

"He's fine." Meredith said. "Cas fixed him up this morning."

"Cas is here?"

Meredith nodded.

"Great." Claire groaned. She moved her hands and turned her head to look at her friend. "You must hate me."

Meredith's face softened, and she reached out to brush Claire's tangled blonde hair away from her face. "I don't hate you, Claire. I'm worried about you. We all are, and I know we promised to let you take this at your own pace, but after last night...we can't have something like that happening again. You could've seriously hurt someone."

The events of the previous night had come flooding back to her when Meredith told her she had shot Dean, and she nodded as she sat up carefully. "I know. I just..." Sudden tears flooded her eyes against her will, and she buried her face in her hands again as they spilled over. "I don't know what to do, Mere. I'm scared."

Meredith moved from the floor to the couch and pulled Claire into her arms, rubbing her back and holding her tight. "I know you're scared, but you're not in this alone, okay? We're all right here, and we're going to get you through this, but you've got to talk to us so we can figure out how to help you. I know you don't want to talk about it. I know it hurts, but you have got to let it out. You know you can't hide from it forever, right? Not if this is what it's going to do to you. You're too young to start drinking yourself to sleep every night, Claire."

Claire couldn't speak. She was sobbing too hard. Meredith held her until she had cried herself out, and then fixed her a cup of strong coffee and brought it to her.

"Take this upstairs with you and get cleaned up. I know you don't feel good, and this isn't going to be easy for any of us, but we've got to figure something out, okay?"

Claire nodded, taking the mug and throwing the blanket off her lap.

"Be careful of your foot." Meredith cautioned as Claire stood up and remembered that she had injured herself as well. "Do you need help?"

"No. I think I got it." Claire said. "Why didn't Cas fix my foot too?"

"We asked him not to." Meredith admitted. "Figured it would serve as a good reminder of what happened, and maybe help keep it from happening again."

Claire made her way slowly and carefully up to her bedroom, and sat down on her bed to drink her coffee before she went to take a quick shower. As she drank she thought about what had happened last night, and realized just how amazing Meredith Mitchell was.

She was aware of what had happened with Meredith's mother after her dad had died, knew it was part of why Dean had cut back on his drinking, and Claire was extremely grateful that Meredith had chosen to continue loving her instead of hating her for what she had done last night even though she had every reason to at least be mad.

Sharon Fairchild had let her grief over loosing her husband get the best of her, and had turned to alcohol instead of turning to her friends and family to help her through it. Because of that Meredith had lost her mother, her best friend, and almost her own life. It was why she and Kim didn't drink. They knew how dangerous that road was, and last night Claire had gotten way too drunk and had accidentally shot Dean. She could've killed him.

Meredith should be livid right now. She should be throwing her out of the house, refusing to even look at her. She could've killed Dean. She could've hurt Kit. Claire hated herself for what had happened even though it had been an accident. She had chosen to get drunk, so accident or not it was still on her, and Meredith should be raising Hell with her right now. But instead she was taking care of her, fixing her coffee, offering to help her up the stairs because of her injured foot, holding her while she cried her eyes out.

It took an incredibly strong person to make that choice, to react with compassion instead of anger, and with everything Meredith had been through over the years Claire was pretty sure strong was an understatement. In Claire's eyes Meredith Mitchell was invincible, and she felt incredibly lucky to have her as a friend.

%%%

When Claire hobbled back downstairs she found her friends waiting for her, and realized she was walking into a sort of intervention. Meredith, Dean, Sam, Cas, Jody, and Alex were all sitting in the living room, ready to help her in whatever way they could. Kim and Jake weren't there because she wasn't as close with them, and obviously the kids weren't there, but Claire suspected it wouldn't take long for her story to reach them, and she didn't mind. They were part of her little pieced together family too. She suspected Kit had been sent across the street for a while so she wouldn't interrupt, and Claire took a deep breath as she slowly made her way into the living room and sat down beside Alex on the love seat. She couldn't even look at Dean.

"Okay." she said, running her hands nervously over her thighs. "Fix me."

"We don't want to fix you, Claire." Sam said. "We want to help you."

"And for us to be able to help you," Dean said. "You have _got_ to tell us what happened. So talk."

Meredith, who was sandwiched between the Winchesters on the couch, put a hand on Dean's arm, a gentle reminder to go easy on her. Claire understood that Dean wasn't trying to be rude or harsh. He was just worried about her and wanted to help, but he didn't know how to help because he didn't know what was going on. Not all of it anyway. The others were in the same position. They all had bits and pieces of the story, but none of them knew the real reason why she was spiraling, though Meredith could probably guess.

"First of all," she said, finally meeting Dean's gaze. "I am _so_ sorry about last night."

Dean shook his head, brushing it off. "It's okay. I'm fine."

"I could've _killed_ you, Dean." she argued. "That's not okay!"

"No, it's not." Dean agreed. "But you didn't kill me."

"You made some really stupid decisions last night, Claire." Jody said, having been filled in as soon as she and Alex had arrived a couple of hours ago. "But everyone in this room has made some really stupid decisions. Except maybe Meredith. I think she may actually be a perfect person."

Meredith laughed at that. "I promise you I've made mistakes. Maybe not as bad as the rest of you, but I've made them. I probably never should've married Jake, for instance."

"What you did last night was really serious and dangerous, but trust me. You've got nothing on these three." Jody said, gesturing to the men in the room.

"No one can top us for stupid decisions." Dean agreed. "We've messed up so many times, and gotten more people hurt or killed than I can count. I don't want you beating yourself up for last night, Claire, because I'm fine. All I want is for you to tell us what's going on so we can help you."

Claire took a deep breath, and began her story, knowing that she was safe here. "A couple of months ago this guy, Todd, asked me out. I didn't really know him, but I'd seen him around, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. So I went out with him. It wasn't a bad date, but I wasn't interested in seeing him again, so when he walked me back to my dorm I told him thanks and good-night. That's when he decided he deserved more and tried to kiss me. So I pushed him away, and he got pissed off and shoved his way into my room. I knew what he was going to try to do, so I let him shove me onto the bed and grabbed my knife from under my pillow. He freaked and ran away, and the next day the campus police came and searched my room and my car. They took all my weapons, and the dean sat me down and told me that they didn't want to make a big deal out of it. If I would go quietly Todd wouldn't press charges, so I had Alex help me pack up my stuff, and I went home.

"I explained everything to Jody, and Cas, and Alex. We argued about it, but eventually they agreed to let me handle it the way I wanted to handle it." she paused and glanced at her surrogate sister. "That's about when Alex and I started talking about hunting full time. That's also about the same time I started drinking."

"So this wasn't a one time thing." Dean said. "This is something that's been going on for a while now."

Claire nodded. "Jody caught me one night, and we had a huge fight, and I left. I figured maybe I would be able to control it better if I wasn't in Sioux Falls, so I decided to go stay with Sam for a while. I stopped a couple of times between home and the bunker, and got too drunk to drive so I ended up spending a couple of nights in motel rooms. Then I got that call from my friend about the demon in Reveille, and I thought that would be a perfect distraction. When Dean showed up I decided Meredith would be an even better distraction because she doesn't drink, and neither does Kim. I thought that would make it easier for me not to drink too. I stopped at another bar on the way here, and slept it off in a motel room, and I was doing really good once I got here. I was only sneaking a couple of drinks here and there."

"So, what happened last night?" Meredith asked, not commenting on the fact that Claire had been drinking underage under her roof without permission.

"I had a nightmare."

"About the indecent with Todd?" Sam asked.

Claire shook her head. "About the time I was raped."

No one said anything. No one had known.

"Mom was gone, and I was a mess. In and out of juvie, spending nights on the streets, getting into trouble." Claire continued. "One night I was trying to find a safe place to sleep when some guy grabbed me and dragged me into an alley. I didn't know how to fight back, and he raped me. When he was finished he knocked me out, and I woke up in a pile of garbage bags the next morning with a homeless guy rooting around for breakfast and muttering to himself about aliens or something. I went straight to the police and told them what had happened. I think because of my record they didn't really believe me. They sent me back to juvie, and said they couldn't find the guy, but I don't think they even bothered to look. That's why I didn't fight the school about the Todd thing. I didn't think it would do any good. And that's why I started drinking. I thought I was doing better until I had that nightmare last night, and...I just broke. It hurts so much to even think about what happened, and I didn't want to hurt anymore. So I got drunk."

Alex was holding her hand, and it was a long time before anyone said anything. Claire could tell just by looking around the room that more than one of her friends would like to hunt down and kill Todd and her rapist, which was exactly the reaction she had expected. It was also why she hadn't said anything until now. She was afraid that they would go and get themselves in trouble. She didn't want that.

"We can fix this." Jody finally said. "We can press charges against Todd, against the school for wrongfully throwing you out. We can find the other guy."

"I can smite him if you like." Cas suggested.

No one laughed because he was completely serious.

"We're not smiting anybody, Cas." Dean said. "We can beat the crap out of him though."

"Or trick him into making deal and have Crowley okay early collection." Meredith suggested. "Death's too easy, but at least that way he'd be roasting in Hell forever."

"Even without a deal he wouldn't be allowed into Heaven." Cas said. "I would make sure of it."

"Guys." Claire said, interrupting their strategy session. "No smiting, no deals, and no beating the crap out of anyone."

"We can't let this go, Claire." Cas said, easily shifting gears from angel to the protective father figure he had become. "This assbutt that hurt you..."

"Hat, Cas." Dean corrected. "It's ass _hat_."

"I don't know." Meredith said, her arms crossed in anger at the unknown man. "I think assbutt works just fine."

Cas continued without acknowledging their comments. "He must be made to pay for his actions. He hurt you."

"Yeah, and I got over it."

"Apparently not if you're getting drunk to forget about it." Sam said. "It's still your decision, but Cas is right. We shouldn't just let this guy slide. We can make the police do something."

"I'll have my guys take over the case." Jody suggested. "Maybe Sheriff Archer can help. You have options, Claire."

"I know." she said. "I know there's things that we can do, but right now I don't know what I want to do. Just...give me some time to think about it, okay?"

They watched as she got up and went back upstairs. Cas started to go after her, but Jody stopped him.

"Let her go." Jody said. "That couldn't have been easy for her. Give her some time to calm down."

Alex pushed her long, dark hair out of her face and looked at Dean and Meredith. "Maybe I should stay here instead of across the street." She and Jody were sharing Jake and Kim's guest room, but Alex thought it might be better for Claire if she moved in with her while they were in town. "Maybe if she's not alone..."

Meredith nodded. "Good idea. Check with Claire first, though. She may not want a roommate."

Alex nodded and got up to follow after her sister, intending to sit outside the bedroom door if Claire didn't want her inside.

"What are we gonna do about this?" Dean asked once both girls were gone.

"Whatever Claire wants us to do." Meredith said. "Even if that's nothing. We can't go behind her back on this."

The others agreed even though no one liked the idea. They couldn't force her to take action, and if they did anything without her permission it would only make things worse. They had to follow her lead on this.

%%%

"Can I ask you something?" Claire asked.

She and Alex were lying on her bed, snuggled up because she needed the comfort from her best friend.

"What?"

"Why did you stick with Alex?" Claire asked. "Why not go back to Annie after you moved in with Jody?"

Alex understood exactly what Claire was getting at. Not only was Alex not her real name, but it was the name her kidnappers had given her. She sighed heavily. "I know it wasn't exactly an ideal situation, being kidnapped by vampires and used as bait, but I did love them. They raised me. They were my family. They took care of me. I only ran away because I couldn't take the guilt any longer, and if I hadn't met Jody, or if she hadn't been so nice to me I guess, I would've completed the transition when Mama fed me her blood. By the time I was free I didn't know who Annie was anymore. Why try to go back to someone I didn't know when I could just move forward and try to be a better Alex?"

"I guess that makes sense."

"You know you can't just let this go, right?" Alex said. "Those guys could hurt other girls. They probably have."

"I know." Claire said. "I'm just scared. I don't want to face all of that again."

Alex stroked Claire's hair as the other girl snuggled closer. "You won't be facing it alone this time. Personally, I think you should just let Cas smite the jerk. Both of them. They deserve it."

Claire giggled. "They do, but they're human as far as I know. We're not supposed to hurt humans if we can help it, remember?"

"Yeah, but some humans aren't worth saving." Alex said. "They hurt people. They hurt _you_. They're lucky Sam and Dean aren't hunting them down right now."

Claire sighed. "We can't kill them unless we have to, but I don't want anyone else getting hurt because I was too scared to fight back. I'm a hunter. I'm not supposed to be scared."

"Oh please. You think Sam and Dean are never scared?" Alex said. "Hunters aren't fearless. We're just the only people stupid enough to dedicate our lives to killing monsters."

"Or angry enough." Claire corrected.

"Both." Alex decided.

Both girls smiled at that and fell into a companionable silence followed soon after by sleep.

Meredith found them snuggled up together when she came up to check on them and see if they were hungry. Since they were asleep she simply tucked them in and turned out the light. She wasn't sure about Alex, but she knew Claire needed the rest. She didn't see any reason to wake them up to ask if they wanted to come down for lunch. They could eat later. And since it was such a sweet scene she couldn't resist snapping a picture on her phone.

"Aw." Jody said, smiling when Meredith showed her the picture a few minutes later. "My girls."

"Now, that's just too sweet for words." Dean said, looking over their shoulders. "Are you sure that's Alex and Claire?"

Meredith gave him a playful shove. "Like you haven't caused your fair share of trouble, and I know for a fact that you have a sweet streak that could make a sugar cube taste bitter."

"I do not."

"He's blushing!" Jody teased, grinning. "You embarrassed him."

Meredith put her phone on the counter and turned around, grabbing Dean's face and pulling him in for a playful, smacking kiss. "Suck it up, sweetheart."

Meredith shrieked as Dean tickled her, and Jody joined Sam and Cas in watching them play.

"It's good to see him happy like this." Cas said.

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

"Do you think you'll be that happy with Brooke?" Cas asked conversationally.

"Who's Brooke?" Jody inquired. "Sam, do you have a girlfriend?"

"No." Sam said in answer to Jody's question.

"Brooke is the girl he impregnated ten years ago." Cas said, making Sam cringe.

Jody looked surprised at the news, and a little amused at how Cas had worded it. "Oh. So..."

"Yeah." Sam said. "I've got a kid. Thanks, Cas."

"I'm sorry, Sam." Cas said, looking apologetic. "I assumed it was common knowledge at this point. I didn't realize..."

Sam shook his head. "No, it's okay, Cas." He turned his attention back to Jody. "I just got back from meeting him actually. I spent a week up in Pennsylvania with them."

"How did that go, by the way?" Dean asked, joining his brother, Cas, and Jody at the table after helping Meredith serve up leftovers of last night's chicken quesadillas and the year's first batch of peach salsa. "Did Trevor run away screaming when he met you?"

"No, Dean." Sam said. "I explained everything to Brooke, and met Trevor. He's a great kid."

"Gabriel say 'I told you so'?" Dean asked.

"Gabriel?" Cas asked, his mouth full of cheesy chicken even though he had no reason to eat. He had discovered that he didn't need to be hungry to enjoy Meredith's cooking.

Sam and Dean gave Cas and Jody a quick run down of what had happened with the fake demon in Reveille, and weren't surprised to find that Cas had known his brother was alive for a while now.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Dean demanded lightly, more curious than upset.

"I didn't think it was of import." Cas said. "I wasn't aware that he was involved in anything that would affect either of you. He organized the reapers after you killed Death, Dean, and I haven't heard anything from him since. I had no idea he had taken on the role of guardian for anyone, much less Sam's family."

Dean glanced at Sam, expecting him to argue that Brooke and Trevor were not his family, and smiled a little when Sam said nothing. Apparently the idea was growing on him.

"Did you now about the soul mate thing?" Sam asked, not bothering to ask why Cas hadn't known what Gabriel was up to since he was currently in charge of whatever was going on upstairs.

Cas shook his head. "No. I wasn't aware that Heaven cared about your futures beyond your roles in the Apocalypse. If a cupid was brought in I figured it would be afterward for whichever one of you had survived. If either of you survived. Sort of a consolation prize if you weren't reduced to pudding. I didn't realize steps had already been taken to find your matches before you were even aware of your destinies. I'm glad it's all worked out well for you though."

Everyone at the table caught the happy smile on Dean's face when he looked at Meredith. Things had definitely worked out well for him.

"I wish I didn't know." Sam said.

"About Brooke and Trevor?" Meredith asked.

"No, I'm glad I found out about them." Sam clarified. "I wish I didn't know about the whole soul mate thing. It brings a whole new level of pressure to the mix."

"Relax, Sammy." Dean said. "It's a sure thing. You can't screw it up."

"That's exactly why it's ten times more difficult." Sam said. "How would you have felt if you had known Meredith was basically your only choice?"

"Gee, thanks, Sam."

"I didn't mean that in a bad way, Mere."

Dean considered this while he chewed, and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess that would've made it...weird. But in this hypothetical scenario you're talking about, did I know I'd found my soul mate before Cas pulled me out, or after I crash landed on her doorstep last year?"

"Does it matter?" Sam asked.

"I'm just thinking I would've fought against it had I known back when I was roasting Hanna Durant." Dean said. "No way would I have put her through loosing the guy she was in love with like that."

"I hate to break it to you, babe, but you did." Meredith informed him.

Dean choked on his mouthful of peach salsa. "What?"

Meredith nodded. "I wouldn't admit it for a long time, but I was already in love with you back then, Dean. Falling for you at least. And I knew it. Things wouldn't have worked out the way they did with Jake if I hadn't felt more than friendship for you. I'm surprised you haven't figured that out yet.

Dean had been aware that Meredith had been attracted to Jake because of the qualities the two men shared, but he hadn't been aware, at least not completely, that she had already developed actual romantic feelings for him. And that only made her fear of marriage more understandable. Jake had been a substitute and she had known it, they had suffered through the loss of two children, their marriage had failed, and it was entirely likely that she felt like she had betrayed Dean on some level because she had tried to replace him. She wasn't just afraid. She felt guilty. She was afraid she'd screw up her second marriage as well. And of course this had all come out in front of everyone, and they couldn't really get into it to sort it out. This was too personal for an audience.

"Hey." Sam said. "I wonder if you two were hit on that case or when you were kids."

"I could find out." Cas offered.

"No!" Dean and Meredith exclaimed in unison. Both of them were fine not knowing exactly when their futures had been decided for them.

"Oh my god." Meredith said, nearly choking on her water as a thought occurred to her, setting her glass down before she spilled it.

"What?" Dean asked, instantly worried.

"Were my parents fixed up by a cupid just so we could end up together?" she asked, looking at her boyfriend, and knowing that John and Mary Winchester had been put together specifically so that Sam and Dean could play their parts in the Apocalypse.

"It's entirely possible that many matches were made throughout history to ensure that you and Dean ended up together." Cas said. "Other events were probably arranged as well."

"Like what?" Jody asked.

"Like my great-grandfather going insane and murdering Hanna Durant and Aaron Reeves." Meredith said. "Her ghost trying to kill me is what brought Dean back into my life."

"I'm sorry if I've cast a shadow on your love." Cas said, drawing strange looks from the others because of how he had worded it.

Meredith shook her head. "No, Cas, it's fine. It's just crazy to think that someone went through so much trouble just to make sure we'd fall in love."

"It's freaking insane." Dean said. "I feel like some kid's doll right now."

Meredith and Sam understood exactly what he was feeling because they were feeling it too. The whole thing was just plain weird, and it made Dean wonder what kind of path Heaven was going to try to force Kit down. Sam was having similar thoughts about Trevor. What kind of mess was the kid going to end up in later in life just because his father was Sam Winchester?

%%%

The house was quiet. Claire and Alex had come down for dinner and then gone right back to bed, Sam was possibly asleep up in his room, and Jody had gone back across the street with Kim, Jake, and the kids. Meredith was sitting in the nursery chair, buttoning up one of Dean's old flannel shirts after feeding Kit, and Dean was pacing around the small space in the room, holding Kit up to his shoulder and trying to get her to burp. She didn't usually need it, but tonight she had been a little fussy after dinner, and Dean was perfectly willing to let his child throw up on him if she needed to, though he was really hoping that the only thing that came out of her mouth was air.

Kit let out a quiet, but audible burp as Dean gently patted her back, and he was glad that was all that came out. "That's a good girl." he told the baby, and then looked down at Meredith, coming to a stop. "So, you want to talk about that little revelation you made at lunch earlier?"

"What about it?" she asked, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

Dean placed Kit in her crib after giving her a kiss, and sat down on the ottoman, pulling it back a little so they weren't quite so crowded. "I didn't realize you were actually in love with me back then."

"Neither did I." Meredith said. "I mean, I did. It just took me a while to realize that that's why I had married Jake, that it was the things about him that reminded me of you that I was in love with and not actually him. When we first got married I thought I'd gotten over you, that Jake had helped me heal and move on from loosing you, and in a way he did, but I finally realized it wasn't what I thought it was. That's when I started feeling like my marriage was a lie, and I wasn't being fair to him, and..."

"And you felt like you were betraying me." Dean finished when she trailed off, knowing her well enough to fill in the blanks.

She looked away, but nodded slightly. "I never thought of it like that, but yeah. Maybe a little."

"And that's why you won't marry me." he guessed. "Not just because it didn't work last time. You're afraid you're gonna screw it up this time too, but you didn't screw it up last time. It wasn't right, Mere."

Her nod was more definite this time. "Dean, I know proposing was a huge deal for you, and I know I hurt you when I said no, but...I just couldn't do it. I was too scared."

Dean couldn't help but notice the past tense of her words. "Couldn't? Was?"

Meredith smiled. "I was afraid to marry you because of what happened with Jake, but I was also still afraid I was going to loose you somehow, and I guess some part of me thought that would be easier if you weren't my husband. Don't ask me why, because I have no idea. I don't know if it's got something to do with Kit, or the cupid, or if I've just realized how silly I was. Or maybe it's all of that, but I'm not afraid anymore. I want to marry you, Dean. If you still want to marry me."

"Yeah." Dean said automatically. He didn't need to think about it. A smile stretched across his face as she moved to sit in his lap and he put his arms around her. "Of course I still want to marry you."

Meredith mirrored his smile as she took his face in her hands and kissed him.

"Does this mean I get a pretty diamond to show off to all my friends?" he joked.

Meredith laughed and hugged him. "Yes. If you really want, I will buy you an engagement ring."

"How about I buy you one instead?" he asked, still smiling. "We'll go shopping this weekend."

"Deal." she kissed him again.

"You know," he said, as Kit began to fuss again and Meredith got up to get her. "In this case I'm okay with having my choices taken away." He got up and wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her temple and smiling down at their daughter in her arms. "I probably never would've got here on my own."

"Careful, Dean." Meredith cautioned. "You're starting to sound like a chick flick."

"I don't care." He reached down and stroked Kit's cheek with his finger. "I'm a happy man, and if that means chick flick moments, then so be it."

%%%

Claire was sitting out on the front porch steps. She had woken up about two hours after she and Alex had gone back to bed, and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. She had felt restless and boxed in, so she had come out here for some fresh air. Alcohol would make her feel better, but after what had happened the previous night, and the conversation she had had with her friends today she knew better. She may not be able to stay sober by her own force of will for long, but she could make it through tonight at least.

She knew she had some important decisions to make, but she didn't have to make them right now. Right now she only had to focus on ignoring the voice in her head that was urging her to go inside and have a drink.

She heard the gentle rustle of wings and suddenly Castiel appeared in the yard. He walked over and sat down beside her.

"Are you okay, Claire?" he asked.

She had sent up a silent prayer asking him to come sit with her. She smiled softly at him. "Yeah. I just wanted some company."

Cas could sense that she was struggling with the weight of the decisions she had to make, and wished he could make them for her. They had managed to move beyond the fact that he was the reason she had lost her family, and had grown to love and care for each other. He could only guess that what he now felt for Claire might be close to what Dean felt for Kit, and put his arm around her when she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Together they sat in silence and watched the sun rise.

 **I believe "YAY!", "AWWWWW!", and something I'm not going to even try to put into words, but falls in line with Dean, Meredith, and Cas' ideas on how to avenge Claire sufficiently sum up my thoughts on this chapter. ~SG**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Brooke had been working all day, so Trevor had spent the day at his grandmother's house as usual. Brooke was pretty sure he had spent the day talking Nora's ear off about how excited he was to see Sam again, and she had already warned Sam that he was probably going to be greeted with another flying hug when they arrived at Nora's for dinner.

He had made it back to Reveille the previous night, and Brooke could tell he was nervous about having dinner with her family. Yes, he had already met Nora, but that had been ten years ago under very different circumstances. She didn't think it helped any that Gabriel would be there as well. She was pretty sure he was still trying to figure out how he felt about the angel's involvement with her family. She understood that he had done some pretty twisted things to Sam in the past, but he had been nothing but nice to the Bennetts. She hoped tonight would help Sam see that there was nothing to worry about. As far as Brooke could see Gabriel's intentions were true. He wasn't exactly John Dye, but so far she liked him.

And, of course, Nora was still trying to push Brooke and Gabriel together even after having the situation explained to her somewhat, and Brooke had resigned herself to the fact that nothing was ever going to change until she actually did settle down and get married. She just wished her mother would understand that when she settled down it wouldn't be with an archangel.

"Just so you know, Ma doesn't know about the soul mate thing." Brooke informed him as she drove away from the motel Sam was staying at. "She knows you're Trevor's father, and she knows Gabriel's an archangel/guardian angel, but I didn't think she'd be able to wrap her head around us being fated to be together, so I just left that part out."

"Noted." Sam said.

"I left that part out with Trevor and Nate too."

"What happened to telling Trevor the whole truth?" Sam asked, teasing lightly.

She smiled at him. "It's not a lie. It's an omission."

"A secret."

"A secret that probably won't scar him when he finds out about it later in life." she corrected, glad that they could talk about this and it not be an argument. "Would you have understood this when you were his age?"

"Probably not." Sam admitted. He had grown up in a vastly different world than Trevor's, but that didn't mean he would have understood fated love at nine.

"So, how are things with your family?" she asked. "I know you were worried about Claire when you left."

Sam, Jody, Alex, and Claire had stayed in Bristol Ridge for two weeks. In that time the hodge-podge family had spent a lot of time together getting to know each other better, playing with Kit, sorting out Claire's situation, and being excited about Jake and Kim's baby and Dean and Meredith's wedding. Sam had thought about Brooke and Trevor the entire time, and had talked to both of them several times on the phone.

"Good." he said. "Claire went home with Jody and Alex, and they're going to press charges against the guy that attacked her and get everything sorted out with the school."

Sam hadn't told her all the details, but he had shared enough with permission from Claire for her to have a general understanding of the situation. "That's good. What about the other guy? Are they going to go after him too?"

"They're gonna look into it once they get the rest of it taken care of." Sam explained. "It'll be more difficult but we have a few tricks up our sleeve that most people don't."

"And the drinking?"

"She's decided to check herself into a rehab program and do the whole AA thing. I don't think she necessarily needs rehab, but I think she's going to be okay."

She still wanted to hunt instead of going back to school, but at least it was no longer as a way to escape her fears. Sam was also glad that she wasn't going into the life blind. She knew what she was doing, and what to expect, and she wouldn't be alone either. She would be working with Alex, and Sam and Dean would always be there to help if they needed anything.

Dean and Meredith had announced their engagement at dinner the night after it had happened, which, of course, had thrilled everyone, and they had gone shopping for the perfect ring that weekend. They had gone to one second-hand jewelry store and found the perfect vintage ring with a faintly pink tinted diamond and a matching wedding band. When Sam had seen it his first thought was that he couldn't believe his brother had just bought an engagement ring. His second thought was that the set wasn't something he could ever imagine Dean picking out on his own. His third thought had been that it was perfect for Meredith, the woman that would soon be his sister-in-law. He already thought of her that way, but now it would be official, and Sam couldn't be more happy for them.

The women and Rowan and Maddie had spent a large amount of time over the two weeks discussing possible wedding plans, nursery themes, and baby names. Dean and Meredith didn't have a date in mind yet, and Jake and Kim didn't know whether they were having a boy or a girl, but none of that stopped the female members of the family from plotting, planning, and daydreaming. Dean had once lamented to Sam and Cas that he wished certain deceased family members and friends could be there for the wedding, but had quickly gotten over it and it had been the only even remotely sad moment amid all excitement. At least the only one Sam had witnessed. He was pretty sure Dean and Meredith had probably had at least one conversation about the loved ones they wished could be there to see them finally happy.

All in all it had been a wonderful two weeks, and Sam had been sad to see the time end. Not too sad, however, because he had been looking forward to seeing Brooke and Trevor again.

%%%

"Sam, it's good to see you again!" Nora gushed when Brooke and Sam arrived at her house.

"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Bennett."

Nora waved her hand in the air, batting away the formal greeting. "Oh, please call me Nora. You saved my life, and you're practically family. I don't see any need for such formality."

"Nora." Sam said, smiling. The woman's voice was friendly and welcoming, but her eyes were clearly judging him. Sam wasn't surprised, and he didn't mind. He had nothing to hide from her. She knew what he did, and she knew who he was to Brooke and Trevor. And that, he suspected, was the reason for her judgment. Sam wasn't intimidated. He had faced down people and creatures far scarier than Nora Bennett, and though he was well aware of what a protective mother was capable of he wasn't worried. He posed no threat to her family.

Nora ushered them inside, and they were barely through the door when Trevor came barreling into the foyer and flung himself at Sam.

"Sam!" the boy exclaimed as his father caught him.

A smile instantly bloomed on Sam's face. He had very quickly become attached to this child, seeing bits and pieces of himself in the nine-year-old even though he was the spitting image of his mother. "Hey, buddy."

Trevor hugged Sam tight. "I'm glad you came back."

"I told you I would."

"I know, but Mom said you left after she first met you, and then she couldn't find you when she tried to." Trevor said, looking a little sheepish. He hoped Sam wasn't upset that he had been afraid he would never see him again.

"I always keep my promises, Trevor." he told the boy. "I do my best to try, at least."

"What if you have to go fight a monster?" Trevor whispered, making both of his parents smile.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Sam said. "For now I'm taking some time off so I can spend it with you."

Nora pulled Brooke into the kitchen, leaving Trevor to drag Sam out to the backyard. "You told Trevor about what he does?"

"Yes, Ma." Brooke said, not one bit intimidated by her mother. "I told my son the truth about his father. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes." Nora stated. "I do. He shouldn't be exposed to that sort of thing at such a young age."

"He's my son, and I get to decided what he's exposed to." Brooke argued.

"It could traumatize him."

"It's not going to traumatize him, because he's not going to have anything to do with it." Brooke said. "I couldn't lie to my child, Ma, and I didn't want Sam to start his relationship with his son with a lie either."

"I don't understand why you would even let that man into Trevor's life." Nora said, finally voicing her true feelings on the situation. "He ruined your life. How do you know he won't do the same with Trevor's?"

Brooke was so unprepared for the accusations that she actually had to take a step back and was speechless for a moment. When she finally found her voice she was furious with her mother. "Are you absolutely serious right now, Ma? Do you even hear yourself?"

"Of course I hear myself." Nora replied.

"How could you possibly think that Sam ruined my life?" Brooke demanded. "He saved yours! And I wouldn't have Trevor if it wasn't for Sam."

"He abandoned you!" Nora shouted. "He left you to raise that boy on your own! You have to work three jobs, and you have no time for yourself. How can you look at that and tell me your life isn't ruined?"

Brooke gaped at her mother. "First of all, Sam didn't abandon me. He didn't know I was pregnant. He didn't know anything about Trevor until recently. None of this is his fault! I don't look at my life and see ruin, Ma. I see a normal life. So what if I have to work three jobs? Do you ever hear me complain about it? No. And I do have time for myself. How else do you think I'm managing school? I'm doing what I have to do to keep a roof over my son's head and food on our table, and I don't mind it one bit. I use my free time the way I want to use it, and if you think there's something wrong with the way I've chosen to use it you can just keep your mouth shut! It's none of your business. And so help me God, if you even _think_ about putting negative thoughts in Trevor's head about Sam you will never see your grandson again. Sam Winchester is a good man, Ma, and I honestly can't think of a better man to be Trevor's father. He chose to be here, and Trevor and I want him here. He's part of our life now, and if you have a problem with that you can just get over it."

"I'm only trying to help, Brooke!" Nora shouted back. "I just want to see you happy. Is that so wrong?"

"No, it's not wrong, but you're not helping, Ma! You're trying to control my life, and you don't get to do that. No more fixing me up with random men, no more picking apart every decision I make, and you have absolutely no say in anything involving Sam."

"What the hell's going on in here?" Nate demanded.

"What do you think?" Brooke shot back. "Where's Trevor?"

"Out back with Gabriel and Sam." Nate said. "Why?"

"Because we're leaving."

"Brooke."

"No, Ma!" she shouted and marched out of the house. "Sam, Trevor, come on. Trevor, go get your stuff. We're going home."

"What about dinner?" Trevor asked.

"We'll stop at the dinner on the way home." Brooke said. She didn't really feel like eating out tonight, but there wasn't anything at the apartment to cook. She needed to go grocery shopping, but hadn't had a chance.

"I want to eat here." Trevor whined.

"Go get your stuff, David Trevor." she commanded. "Now."

Trevor ducked into the house, knowing better than to argue when his mom was using that voice.

"What happened?" Sam asked, coming to stand in front of Brooke.

"My mother happened."

She turned around and marched back inside, and Sam followed. He didn't really know what else to do. He didn't think there was anything he _could_ do. Nate and Nora were arguing now over how Nora was treating Brooke, and no good-byes were said. Sam and Trevor simply followed Brooke out to the car and got in.

No one spoke all the way through dinner at the diner and the short drive back to the apartment. Trevor was sent to bed as soon as they got home, and he obediently went to brush his teeth and get ready for bed, only coming back out to say good-night. Brooke tucked him in quickly and then came back out to the living room where she vented to Sam, and burst into tears.

There was nothing Sam could do except hold her, so that's what he did. She cried for a long time with her face buried against his shoulder, and then she apologized for breaking down on him like that.

"I'm so sorry." she said, her stuffy nose altering her voice, tears still dripping down her face. "I just.."

"Brooke, it's okay." Sam assured her, handing her a wad of tissues. "Trust me. I know what it's like to have a parent that wants to control your life."

"She means well."

"I'm sure she does." Sam said. "But that doesn't make it any less difficult. Do you have any idea how many times my dad and I blew up at each other? We got into actual, physical fights and Dean had to pull us off of each other a couple of times."

"She just tries to control everything, and when she said those things about you..." Brooke trailed off for a moment, and then continued. "I just lost it. I couldn't take it anymore. I've never yelled at her like that before. I've yelled at her, but...Sam, I threatened to never let her see Trevor again."

"It's okay." he said, pulling her back into his arms. "It'll blow over and we'll work everything out."

They stayed like that for a long time. She didn't cry any more, but she realized that she needed the comfort of his arms around her. She believed him when he said everything was going to be okay.

"Will you stay here tonight?" she asked. "I know it may not be a good idea with this all still being so new, but I don't want to be alone."

Sam smiled softly at her. "Yeah. Sure I'll stay."

"Thanks."

It wasn't a problem. Sam realized as Brooke got up to go wash her face that he wanted to stay. He wanted to be here with her and Trevor, his family. He wanted to take care of them, and if taking care of them meant spending the night to comfort Brooke after a fight with her mother then that's exactly what he was going to do. He didn't really want to walk all the way back to his motel anyway.

Brooke came back and they settled down on the couch, falling asleep with Seth Meyers on TV and Brooke safely wrapped in Sam's arms, her head pillowed on his chest.

 **And there we have our happy ending. Turns out this last chapter wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Thank you ArtistKurai for all you wonderful help, and thank you to everyone for reading, following, favoriting, etc. You guys rock, and I hope you stick around for the next one. If it turns out like I'm planning (this one certainly didn't) it will probably focus much less on the Winchesters, and definitely much more on the Fairchilds. Personally, I'm looking forward to meeting Tim and Sharon, and maybe even Jason. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have a wedding to plan. ~SG**


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